After handing Ronda Rousey a 48 second loss at UFC 207 to close out 2016, it may come as a bit of surprise that UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes is now offering Ronda Rousey advice on how she can make a successful return to the cage.
After suffering the first defeat of her career at the hands of Holly Holm in November of 2015, Rousey took over a year away from the Octagon to recover from several lingering injuries, while taking some time to film several movies in Hollywood. Leading up to her return fight with Nunes at UFC 207, there were many questions regarding whether the former champ would return to the Octagon with an improved standup game. That, coupled with Rousey’s media blackout leading up to the fight not only drew the former champ some criticism, but also left fight fans unsure of Rousey’s mind state leading up to the fight.
Ultimately, when Rousey stepped into the Octagon with Nuens at UFC 207, it took just 48 seconds for Nunes to steal the spotlight as she handed Rousey her second straight loss.
Following the fight, numerous members of the combat sports community, including Floyd Mayweather and his father, offered to work with Rousey on her striking if she was looking to return to the Octagon again in the future.
Now, Amanda Nunes has offered Rousey some advice through an interview with Fox 11 Los Angeles:
“I already passed this moment in my career. It’s harder to lose but if you be strong, you’ll be able to come back like I did. Make some changes, adjust. The passion in her life, the family has to be with her. The base is very important. Make some changes in her camp, move to another gym and come back strong.”
When asked what she thought went wrong for Rousey in the fight, the champ stated:
“I think it was ego. I knew she was gonna try to strike with me and I think that was the completely wrong strategy to fight a girl like me…”
“When I landed I saw, in that moment I saw in her eyes she was done. That [first punch] was the moment that I saw something. Like scared; scared if I connect the other hand because it was the jab.”
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/18/2017.