Friday night in Las Vegas, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey stepped into the Octagon for the first time in over a year as she faced off against UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes in a highly anticipated matchup. While Rousey was the focus of the promos leading up to the event, when the pair stepped into the Octagon it was all Nunes as she landed a big punch just moments into the fight, ultimately finishing Rousey just 48 seconds into the fight.
Following the loss, UFC President Dana White spoke on the UFC 207 post-fight show to discuss Rousey’s mentality following the loss.
“I’ve been with her this whole time,” White stated on the UC 207 post-fight show. “Obviously she is so competitive. She is devastated but she is a lot better than she was during the Holly Holm fight. Obviously she is upset but she has a lot of support with her and I think it is going to be better than the Holly fight.”
Following Rousey’s loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193, she was very open about her struggles coping with the loss. During an interview several months following the loss, Rousey revealed that immediately following the loss she felt suicidal backstage.
Leading up to the fight, Rousey stated that this could very well be one of her last fights. With the loss, Rousey very well could be on her way into retirement. Despite that, the MMA community has expressed not only their support, but also their appreciation for the former champ and everything she has done for women’s MMA.
So far no word yet from the former champ however, but with that being said, Rousey’s mother has released a statement on the matter, saying that despite the loss to Nunes, she is proud of her daughter.
Stay tuned for updates as they become available.