One of these days, we’ll come back around to appreciating everything Ronda Rousey has done for the sport of mixed martial arts.
A few short years ago, the notion that women would ever compete in the UFC, much less headline some of the biggest events in combat sports history, seemed preposterous.
Now, it is just as preposterous to imagine the idea of a UFC without female fighters.
Rousey not only helped fuel the company’s latest boom period, but she broke through to the mainstream on a level like no other mixed martial artist, Conor McGregor included.
She’s done amazing things for the good of the sport, done so without even a whiff of scandal or impropriety, and with the benefit of time and distance, she likely once again come to be appreciated for the good she’s done.
But Rousey’s spectacular fall, one in which she doubled down on the mistakes which knocked her from her pedestal, will be a major part of that story.
And her actions leading up to, and performance during, her 48-second TKO loss to Amanda Nunes last night in the main event of UFC 207 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena were the latest chapter in that fall.
During her meteoric rise, Rousey was able to intimidate and bully opponents, to break them psychologically before they ever set foot in the cage, then use her judo skills to finish fights right out of the gate, like Royce Gracie and his jiu-jitsu two decades prior.
Rousey’s notorious stubbornness suited her right up until the point it backfired.
Somewhere along the way -- somewhere right around the time Joe Rogan bellowed his infamous “once ever in human history” line — Rousey appeared to fall victim to her own hype. It wasn’t good enough just to do her thing. Now she had to beat three-weight-class world boxing champion Holly Holm at her own game. That bout of hubris ended in disaster.
After vanishing for a year following the knockout loss to Holm, Rousey refused to do any media in the leadup to UFC 207 save for a few handpicked safe spaces. This isn’t about reporters being offended: We got our jobs done with or without access.
But after Rousey got absolutely mauled by Nunes in a bout which resembled a 1980s Saturday morning pro wrestling squash match, it became clear why she didn’t want to speak: She didn’t have any good answers ready for some really uncomfortable questions.
Like the big one: How in the world did Rousey not make any apparent changes in her camp? Everyone wanted Rousey to ditch Edmond Tarverdyan and the Glendale Fighting Club after the Holm fight, in which her lack of striking skill against an elite opponent was exposed.
Here’s where Rousey’s stubborn streak turned against her. Loyalty to those who did right by you on your way up is certainly a virtue in life. But doubling down on a coach who was a fringe player before you showed up in his gym, in hindsight, was a terrible call.
In back-to-back fights, Rousey has gone up against fighters from five-star camps: Holm with JacksonWink, and Nunes with American Top Team. And in back-to-back fights, Rousey has looked like a fighter barely of UFC caliber, much less the celebrated figure who transcended the sport and become a voice for women’s empowerment.
The question from here becomes, where does Rousey go from here? It seems retirement is a fait accompli. But it’s hard to imagine an A-list acting career in “what have you done for me lately” Hollywood still exists after such a stink bomb of a performance.
If Rousey has done well with her money, that would be moot, since she’ll never have to work another day in her life.
But if Rousey does return to the Octagon somewhere down the road, let’s hope it is a reinvented version hooked up with an elite gym. After all, there are few things Hollywood or fight fans enjoy more than a redemption story done right.
UFC 207 quotes
"Yeah, because she thinks that she's a boxer, you know. He like put this thing in her head and make the girl believe in that. I don't know why he did that. She have great judo, and she can go far in this division, but he put some crazy thing about boxing, and her career started to go down.” -- Nunes, making a verbal punching bag out of Tarverdyan
“Yeah, that’s it for her. For sure she’s going to retire. She can’t take it anymore. If she wants the rematch, I’m going to do the same thing because she can’t take my punches.” -- Nunes on Rousey.
“After tonight, everyone knows who Amanda Nunes is now, OK? Tomorrow morning, ask somebody who Amanda Nunes is, now they know. That’s why I’m the promoter and everyone else isn’t.” -- UFC president Dana White responding to criticism on the lack of promotion of Nunes.
“I’m not taking nothing away from him, but I was almost in shock he was as slow as he was in his movements and his angles weren’t there.” -- Cody Garbrandt, on Dominick Cruz’s performance in their bantamweight title fight.
“I have a feeling [this loss] going to hurt worse in a couple days. But one thing I am happy about is I get to see who’s real around me. When I had my knee injuries, it was a reality check. A lot of people leave your side. A lot of the support leaves you. Let’s see who’s real out there. Who really loves me?” -- Cruz on his loss.
Stock report
Up: Cody Garbrandt I suspect a generation from now, we’ll look back on Garbrandt’s tour de force UFC bantamweight title victory over Dominick Cruz as one of the great breakthrough performances in the sport’s history. Based on what we had seen out of Garbrandt coming in, it wasn’t too hard to picture a hothead who would go headhunting and get flustered with Cruz’s legendary footwork. Instead, Garbrandt rose to the occasion in magnificent fashion, with a gas tank which never emptied and a superb sense of when to play chess with Cruz and when to amp up the aggression. I’m not about to count out Cruz on the long run, or T.J. Dillashaw, for that matter, but last night felt like the start of an era.
Up: Amanda Nunes So now that Nunes disposed of WME’s golden child in rapid fashion, is the UFC’s new ownership finally going to give her a fair chance to shine? The one-sided pro-Rousey nature of the hype leading up to UFC 207 was a case study in why promoters shouldn’t also be an agent for a fighter on their roster. With that out of the way, Nunes has proven beyond a shadow of the doubt she’s at the head of the class at 135 pounds, as she’s now finished the two biggest stars in the history of the division, Rousey and Miesha Tate, inside of a round. The sky should be the limit for a fighter with Nunes’ skills, back story and personality. Let’s see of WME starts to uphold their end of the bargain.
Up: T.J. Dillashaw If just one more judge had scored one more round in Dillashaw’s favor when he fought Cruz in January, we would be talking about a fighter riding a three-year win streak. Instead, that no-shame-in-defeat, razor-thin loss to Cruz is the only recent blemish on an outstanding fighter’s career. Dillashaw has done everything in his power to earn a shot at the championship he held for a year and a half, including last night’s efficient win over John Lineker. Dillashaw neutralized Lineker’s hard-charging, hard-hitting style and basically clowned him for most of the fight. With Cruz hinting he wants some time off, a matchup between Dillashaw and Team Alpha Male’s Garbrandt is one to savor.
Hold: Dominick Cruz Yeah, I know, on the surface Cruz should be listed as “down.” But I’m not about to kick Cruz after losing for the first time since 2007. Yes, Cruz lost in decisive fashion to Garbrandt, but he’s overcome much bigger hurdles in his career, like losing much of his prime to a succession of injuries. At the post-fight press conference, Cruz put on an awe-inspiring show, mixing blunt honesty about his performance with an astute, analytic breakdown of his own title loss. It was reminiscent of the humility, intelligence, and pride Conor McGregor showed after his loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 196, and speaks to the notion the greatest bantamweight of all-time will continue to be a factor for a long time to come.
Down: Johny Hendricks In his last four scheduled fights at 170 pounds, Hendricks had one weight cut go so awry his bout was called off (UFC 192 vs. Tyron Woodley); made weight and lost in short order to Stephen Thompson; and has now missed weight in losses to Kelvin Gastelum and Neil Magny. Hendricks has said he’s going to go up to middleweight, but I wish he had done so two years ago. Hendricks going into 2017 looks like a shot fighter and the idea of him facing a Yoel Romero or Luke Rockhold sounds just plain ugly.
Interesting stuff
What to make of the giant mess that was the opening matchup between Alex Oliveira and Tim Means? First, Means drilled Oliveira with two knees to the head while he had a knee on the mat. This was not a matter of keeping a pinky finger on the mat in a chintzy attempt to be technically grounded; Oliveira was legitimately grounded. That was true Friday and will still be true when the new rules changes go down on Jan. 1.
Unfortunately, UFC vice-president Marc Ratner got the call wrong in explaining the rules on the Fight Pass broadcast; which caused Rogan to go on a hyperactive tirade about it. Then, to make matters worse, referee Dan Miragliotta called the fouls unintentional, which meant when Oliveira couldn’t continue, the fight went into the books as a no-contest instead of a disqualification win for Oliveira. Means then all but bragged about landing the knees intentionally before bizarrely challenging the media to a fight.
All in all, it was a giant cluster of a scene. Oliveira is going to protest the no-contest ruling, and the Nevada Athletic Commission can at least make things right, reverse the decision and get Oliveira his win bonus. Meantime, let’s be thankful this opening-match fiasco didn’t portend anything greater as the night went on.
And finally, since this really doesn’t fit anywhere else: Mike Pyle is one of the truly good, genuine people in this game. He’s been around forever in a career that predates the Unified Rules. He’s 41 and his brutal knockout loss to Alex Garcia was not fun to watch. Pyle would could potentially make a great coach or analyst, so it’s my sincere hope he decides it’s time to move on.
Fight I’d like to see next: Bantamweights in 2017
Garbrandt vs. Cruz 2? Garbrandt vs. Dillashaw? Either way, when Urijah Faber retired a couple weeks back, he left one of the lighter weight classes he helped put on the map in excellent hands. Garbrandt was the most vocal among Team Alpha Male fighters in his displeasure with the way Dillashaw handled his departure. That’s a big money fight. So is a rematch with Cruz. You can’t go wrong with either.
Meantime, there’s a ton of talent, including a fast-emerging Jimmie Rivera, don’t count out Aljamain Sterling, Bryan Caraway is always lurking, and on down the line. 135 is shaping up to be one of the sport’s most exciting divisions for a long time to come.
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