What’s the story?
The last fight of 2016 inside the octagon lasted a mere 48 seconds, with Ronda Rousey being on the wrong end of a spectacular first round finish. As soon as the referee Herb Dean stopped the fight, internet froze, twitter exploded and in the fall-out, fans and pundits alike started criticizing Rousey and her coach Edmond Tarverdyan.
The former Women’s Bantamweight Champion was left devastated and heartbroken after her defeat as people tried to console her.
According to entimports.com, UFC president Dana White told ESPN that he spent three-quarters on an hour consoling her after UFC 207. White was quoted stating the following:
“I must have tears, blood and boogers all over my f***ing jacket. I went in there and hugged her for 45 minutes. I told her, ‘I love you so much, and whatever you want to do next, I got your back. You built this. This doesn’t exist without you. You’re the best decision I ever made’.”
In case you didn’t know...
Rousey suffered a heartbreaking first career loss against Holly Holm at UFC 193. She was expected to make a successful and much awaited comeback against the current champion Amanda Nunes in the main event of UFC 207.
However, Nunes stunned her with a volley of punches and and finished the fight in just 48 seconds. The former women’s champion left the Octagon dejected, with her head held low.
Some stats from the UFC 207 main event: 51 total strikes were thrown by Nunes whereas just 18 strikes were thrown by Rousey. The champion landed 31 significant strikes whereas Rousey could only landed 8 significant strikes.
The heart of the matter
Rousey has become an international celebrity there are very high expectations from her every time she steps inside the Octagon. However, it looks like the burden of all the expectations has finally caught up with her. After her first loss she had revealed that she thought of committing suicide.
What next?
Rousey’s MMA future is uncertain. She recently released a statement saying she will be taking some time to reflect on the past contemplate on her next move. She didn’t mention anything about retirement in the post-fight statement but it’s a known fact that she was intending to wind-up her MMA career sooner rather than later.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Ronda should take some time off to emotionally get over this horrible defeat. Her fighting career will surely benefit a lot if she switches Glendale Fighting Club for American Kickboxing Academy, Jackson-Wink or some of the better gyms in the country.
