5 UFC comebacks that went horribly wrong

#4 Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey retired for good after her loss to Amanda Nunes

When Ronda Rousey’s dominant reign at the top of the UFC Women’s Bantamweight division came to an end at the hands – and legs – of Holly Holm in November 2015, everyone expected the UFC to do what they always do, and book an immediate rematch between the two. That didn’t happen, though, and instead ‘Rowdy Ronda’ took an extended sabbatical away from the sport.

Just over a year later, the most famous female MMA fighter of all time was ready to return, and rather than give her a tune-up fight, the UFC booked her right into a fight for the title she’d lost – except it wasn’t against Holm. Instead, Rousey was faced with Amanda Nunes – who had unseated Miesha Tate after Tate had beaten Holm.

Serious MMA analysts questioned Rousey’s mindset coming into the fight, particularly after she refused to attend many of the UFC’s planned media events prior to the show, but for her part, the former champion claimed she was as ready as she’d ever been before.

Many fans gave ‘Rowdy Ronda’ a fair chance of defeating Nunes, who was known as a front-runner and had struggled against offensive grapplers in the past. But instead, ‘The Lioness’ blitzed the former champion with a series of heavy punches, leaving her out on her feet in under a minute and ending her comeback with a bang.

What happened next?

The loss to Nunes would be the last time that Rousey would step inside the UFC’s Octagon; the former champion officially retired after the fight and was inducted into the UFC’s Hall of Fame months later. At the same time, she transitioned into pro-wrestling, signing with WWE and starring with them in 2018 and 2019.