Ronda Rousey was on top of the world when she shattered PPV records at the peak of her powers before her career came tumbling down.
The former UFC Bantamweight champion was a force of nature from the moment she set foot in the octagon for the first time.
Ronda Rousey beat Liz Carmouche in the first women’s fight in UFC history, defending her newly appointed UFC Bantamweight title with a first-round submission win.
Her quickfire victories in the months and years following made her one of the biggest stars in the UFC, becoming a massive draw for Dana White as the dominant female in the division.
However, it all came tumbling down when she broke a PPV record in her penultimate fight.
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Ronda Rousey became the first woman to headline a million buy PPV card in UFC history
The rise of Ronda Rousey was something never seen before in the UFC, and the fans quickly flocked to see who her next victim would be.
After seven consecutive title defenses, Rousey put her belt up against former boxer Holly Holm, who was expected to be the next in a long line of challengers finished quickly by the future WWE wrestler.
The UFC 193 bout went on last and drew a huge audience on pay-per-view. Over 1.1 million people bought the PPV, which featured a co-main event of Joanna Jedrzejczyk against Valerie Letourneau in an all-woman top of the card.
This event was one of just three UFC events headlined by a women’s bout to draw over a million buys.
| Event | Main event | PPV buys (estimated) |
| UFC 207 | Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey | 1.1 million |
| UFC 193 | Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm | 1.1 million |
| UFC 200 | Meisha Tate vs. Amanda Nunes | 1.009 million |
| UFC 190 | Ronda Rousey vs. Beth Correia | 900,000 |
| UFC 184 | Ronda Rousey vs Cat Zingano | 590,000 |
The other two were UFC 200, which saw Amanda Nunes vs Miesha Tate go on last, and Rousey’s bout with Nunes at UFC 207.
However, it is hard to attribute UFC 200’s success to that fight, as it was originally not the main event. Conor McGregor was originally expected to face Nate Diaz, but he was removed from the show before Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier replaced them as the main event.
Unfortunately, Jones pulled out just days before the show, when many people had already purchased the PPV in anticipation.
Nunes/Tate was pushed to the main event, even though the return of Brock Lesnar to face Mark Hunt was the biggest-drawing fight on the card.
Ronda Rousey’s loss to Holly Holm derailed her UFC career completely
The knockout blow landed by Holm changed something in Rousey and derailed what had been a legendary career in the UFC.
The former boxer rocked Rousey with a strong punch before a fantastic high kick knocked her out cold, handing the champion her first loss and taking the UFC Bantamweight title away from her grasp.
It was one of the biggest shocks in UFC history, both for the viewer and the victim in that battle.
Rousey was unprepared to face Holm and was shaken by the defeat. She took more than a year off to recover and reset, returning at UFC 207 for another million-plus pay-per-view against Nunes.
Taking on the greatest female fighter of all time would be tough, as Rousey found out firsthand. She was finished in just 48 seconds, knocked out again in much more brutal fashion than before.
That marked the end of her octagon career. Rousey never recovered from over a million people seeing her finished by Holm, and a second KO loss proved that her time in the UFC was up.