Ronda Rousey excited fans recently by teasing an MMA comeback, bringing back memories of her dominant streak in the UFC.
“Rowdy” Ronda Rousey recently showcased her MMA skills with some new training footage, as fans called for a comeback for the UFC legend.
While she admitted she has been using the opportunity to get back into shape after giving birth to her second child, there could be an opportunity for the former UFC Bantamweight champion to step back into the octagon for the first time since 2016.
As fans get excited about an unlikely return from Ronda Rousey, here are five of her most exciting fights that every MMA fan needs to watch.
5. Ronda Rousey finished Liz Carmouche in the first round of her UFC debut
One fight of Rousey’s career you must watch is her debut in the UFC, marking a historic turning point for the promotion.
After years on the sidelines, female fighters were finally admitted into the promotion in 2013, with Rousey vs Liz Carmouche the first women’s bout in history.
It was much longer than your typical Rousey fight, going almost an entire round before the Olympian locked in her patented armbar to force Carmouche to tap out with just 11 seconds to go in the round
4. Amanda Nunes ended Ronda Rousey’s career with a TKO in the first minute of their fight
The fight that saw Rousey walk away from the UFC, seemingly for good, was a devastating defeat against arguably the greatest female fighter in the promotion’s history.
After losing to Holly Holm (more on that later), Rousey took a year off to prepare for her comeback bout against Amanda Nunes at UFC 207.
Rousey was in fantastic shape but could not deal with the constant barrage of hits from Nunes. She struggled to defend against the Brazilian’s punches, who battered her against the cage, with zero response from the former champion.
It was 48 seconds of Nunes repeatedly smashing Rousey in the face, with the referee doing everyone a favor by ending the fight when he did.
3. Ronda Rousey landed a 16-second knockout blow at UFC 175
Rousey’s second-quickest KO came at UFC 175, where Alexis Davis tasted defeat in the most brutal way.
The Olympic bronze medal judoka defended her title against Davis in 2014 in a fight that barely got going before it was over.
The pair duked it out to kick off the fight before Rousey took control with a judo throw to take Davis off her feet with supreme precision.
She was knocked out clean by a series of punches by “Rowdy”, with Davis attempting to fight the referee and doctors due to how out of it she was following the impressive victory.
2. Holly Holm knocked out Ronda Rousey in one of the UFC’s biggest shocks
The nature of fighting means that one lucky punch can cause an upset. Holly Holm’s massive upset win over Ronda Rousey was nothing like that.
In one of the biggest shocks in UFC history, Holm outboxed the undefeated UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion before knocking her out at UFC 193.
Rousey was unprepared to face the former boxer and was sent spinning in the second round with a huge punch, before a massive kick to the head put Rousey to sleep and ended her title run in style.
1. Ronda Rousey ended Cat Zingano in just 14 seconds
If you have the chance to see a 14-second finish anywhere in the world of MMA, you have to go out of your way to watch it.
Rousey’s title defense against Cat Zingano did just that, making the fight as exciting as it was brief.
She blocked a flying knee from Zingano to immediately take her down, flipping in the air to lock in an impressive headlock before transitioning beautifully into an armbar.
Zingano had no choice but to tap out in one of the most spectacular finishes of Rousey’s career and her most exciting MMA fight of all time.