RONDA ROUSEY’S DREAMS of a comeback in the UFC bantamweight division were dashed in 48 seconds at UFC 207 over the weekend.
Reigning champion Amanda Nunes defended her crown for the first time since defeating Miesha Tate, and put in a clinical display at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
She afforded her opponent no real opportunity to establish a footing in the bout, picking her apart with a barrage of punishing shots to the face.
Rousey has since cut a beaten and downtrodden figure but, after a brief spell of silence, she issued a statement asking the public for time to consider her future in MMA.
Nunes blamed Rousey’s coach Edmond Tarverdyan for getting her tactics wrong and accused him of encouraging her to attempt to match the Brazilian’s boxing skills.
A recording of Tarverdyan during the fight has since emerged and it appears that Nunes misread the way he was preparing Rousey.
During the track, you can hear him repeatedly shouting “head movement” and he seems to be advising her to dodge Nunes’s shots rather than try to trade punches. He then instructs her to work Nunes into a clinch.
The final seconds of the recording are a particularly difficult listen as Tarverdyan starts to roar in despair as the realisation that Rousey is about to lose sets in.
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