IT was as disappointing as Mariah Carey’s New Year meltdown at Times Square.
Mixed martial arts fighter Ronda Rousey’s much-vaunted comeback attempt turned out to be a dud. The former UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) Women’s Bantamweight champion was soundly trounced by Amanda Nunes in their UFC 207 fight last Dec. 30 at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.
The match was unpleasant to watch because Rousey didn’t seem to put up much of a fight. Nunes, whose fighting style is boxing, fed judoka Rousey a string of punches that the latter was unable to avoid by failing to duck or otherwise put up a credible defense, despite her coach Edmond Tarverdyan shouting “Head movement!” over and over from outside the octagon.
It was a rout for Rousey, who looked dazed and disoriented after a TKO was declared 48 second into the match.
Nunes blamed Tarverdyan for Rousey’s loss, saying in an after-fight presscon, “…she thinks she’s a boxer. He, like, put this in her head and make the girl believe in that. I don’t know why he did that. She has great judo and then she can go more forward in this division but he put some crazy thing about her boxing and then her career started, like, going down.”
Critics have observed Rousey’s lack of boxing skills. USA Today’s Martin Rogers said, “Tarverdyan had no tactical answer to Holm and even less of one to Nunes’ blistering straight and overhand shots. Even with all that time to recuperate and prepare, Rousey did not learn an effective jab, the first and most basic tenet of boxing, one of MMA’s core disciplines.
“Maybe she was unwilling to learn, but either way Tarverdyan was unable to either persuade Rousey of the value of a viable jab that serves as protection as much as offense, or unable to teach it to her.”
Some fans and sports analysts are at this point calling for Rousey to retire. After an initially successful career that saw her dominate 12 opponents in a row, nine of them submitting to her signature armbar move and judo striking stance, she ate a devastating loss last Nov. 2015 to Holly Holm and now to Nunes—both boxers.
Rousey released a statement to ESPN on Dec. 31: “I want to say thank you to all of my fans who have been there for me in not only the greatest moments but in the most difficult ones. Words cannot convey how much your love and support means to me.
“Returning to not just fighting, but winning, was my entire focus this past year. However, sometimes —even when you prepare and give everything you have and want something so badly—it doesn’t work how you planned. I take pride in seeing how far the women’s division has come in the UFC and commend all the other women who have been part of making this possible, including Amanda.
“I need to take some time to reflect and think about the future. Thank you for believing in me and understanding.”
Whether Rousey decides to quit or stay, she has made a mark on the sport that can never be erased. She is credited for raising the profile of women fighters in the MMA ranks. In Nov. 2012, UFC announced she was the first female fighter to sign up with them. Her 12 consecutive MMA wins blazed a path for women in the sport. An Olympic judo bronze medalist, she parlayed her judo skills into a fighting style that downed opponents in mere seconds: Cat Zingano in 14 seconds, the shortest match in UFC history (UFC 184, Feb. 28, 2015) and Bethe Correia in 34 (UFC 190, Aug. 1, 2015). She made “armbar” a household word and elevated awareness about MMA: in 2015, she was the third most searched person on Google.
While Rousey’s comeback this time was a failure, her past accomplishments will always be the standard other fighters will seek to surpass.
★★★★★
Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer. Facebook: Gogirl Racing and Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @gogirlracing and @jennyortuoste, and Instagram: @jensdecember.
