Ronda Rousey lost the fight. Ronda Rousey's loss was a terrible mistake for MMA. Sensation or logical ending

American mixed-style fighter (MMA) Ronda Rousey lost to the current champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the bantamweight division, Brazilian Amanda Nunes, as part of the UFC-207 show. This was reported by a Lenta.ru correspondent.

UFC 207 took place in Las Vegas, and the fight between Rousey and Nunes was the main event of the evening. The fight ended with the victory of the Brazilian athlete by technical knockout at 48 seconds of the first round. Nunes defended her championship title with her 14th victory in 18 fights. The American has 12 wins in 14 fights.

29-year-old Rousey is the first UFC bantamweight champion, she was able to make six successful defenses of her title and lost it in November 2015, losing to American Holly Holm at UFC-193.

Sensation or logical ending?

Rousey's fans have been waiting for more than a year for their idol to return to the Octagon. And now it finally happened. The opponent is the first champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the history of Brazil, Amanda Nunes, a magnificent athlete and a first-class striker. Ronda could not have dreamed of an opponent more suitable in style. And if she could, then the fight certainly would not have been of a title nature, because the return of the lost belt is what Rosie resumed training for.

However, the beautiful story was not destined to have a happy ending. The undercard fights dragged on endlessly, in one of which challenger Cody Garbrandt took the bantamweight championship belt from Dominick Cruz, who had not known defeat since 2007. Isn't this a sign for Rhonda? The challenger crushes the champion. But in her battle everything went according to a different scenario.

On the approaches to the octagon and during the introduction of the main stars of the evening, Rousey looked stern to the point of impossibility. The trademark squinting look, excellent physical readiness, noticeable to the naked eye - a real killing machine! But as soon as the gong sounded, all this severity evaporated overnight, and we saw the same confused girl who a year earlier lost to Holly Holm in Melbourne in front of 60 thousand spectators.

Rousey seemed to be holding her hands high, but it seemed like she didn’t block any of Nunes’ punches at all. By the way, it’s worth giving the Brazilian her due; she was also perfectly prepared for the fight. Having seized the initiative from the very first seconds, she did not leave the ex-champion a single chance of salvation. It all looked like a complete beating. Ronda threw just a couple of punches, missing a whole barrage. Each attack of the Brazilian achieved its goal, and soon Rousey's face turned into a complete nightmare. The referee did not prolong her torment and recorded Nunes’ victory already at the 48th second of the first round.

While the stunned fans, who had packed the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to capacity, tried to come to their senses, the Brazilian and her team rejoiced, because Nunes herself admitted before the fight that victory over Rousey is what every athlete competing in their weight category strives for . In an interview after the fight, the champion first thanked her team, and then began to finish off the shocked spectators. “Forget Ronda Rousey. I am the best on the planet. She can continue to act in films. She already has enough money."“Nunez said.

There are several undeniable facts in her words. The first - on the wave of success, Rhonda actually managed to appear in films. She played in The Expendables 3, Fast and Furious 7 and several other films. In addition, together with Irish champion Conor McGregor, she graced the cover of the popular video game UFC 2. The second fact is that Rousey really has a lot of money. In 2014, UFC 184, the main event of which pitted Rousey against Cat Zingano, was broadcast on pay-per-view (PPV) and was watched by more than 600 thousand viewers. UFC bosses made a lot of money from the women's fight, and Ronda became world famous.

By the way, Rousey’s fee for the fight with Nunes was also quite large: she earned $3 million - this is a record for female UFC fighters. For comparison: her opponent received 100 thousand dollars in fees and the same amount for winning the main fight of the evening. As they say, feel the difference. And these amounts do not include interest on PPV sales. So who lost in this situation is a big question.

What's next?

This question probably torments both Rosie’s many fans and the athlete herself. This is not how the former champion imagined her return to the Octagon, not at all. After last year's defeat to compatriot Holly Holm, Rhonda was in a catastrophic state - on the air of one evening show, she admitted that she was even thinking about suicide.

The knockout was very difficult. If anyone has forgotten, we remind you: Holm declassed Rousey, not giving her a chance either on the ground or in the stand-up, and the fight ended with a powerful high kick from Holly right into Ronda’s jaw. It took her a long time to come to her senses and she was hospitalized. That knockout was not only physical, but also psychological. And, as the fight with Nunes showed, the ex-champion never recovered from it.

And will he be able to recover at all? In one interview, Rhonda admitted that her dream is to live with her boyfriend in a secluded house away from prying eyes. She is fed up with battles, fame, money, and now, it seems, defeats. She no longer has anything to prove to herself or to those around her, while new Amanda Nunes will endlessly come to the UFC - hungry for victories and financial well-being.

Rosie has overcome many difficulties in her life. Her father committed suicide when she was 8 years old, and she was raised and trained by her mother under extreme conditions. Overcoming pain and fierce resistance from her rivals, when she was a judoka, she climbed to the podium at the World Championships and Olympic Games. Ronda became a UFC champion and a role model for many people, but as we know, nothing lasts forever. It looks like we have witnessed the end of Ronda Rousey's fighting career.

Not a bad dream: a house, children, family well-being. And the UFC has no place in this dream. And if there is no place in your thoughts for sports and the desire to win no matter what, is there any point in continuing grueling training? It seems Rousey's fans already know what her answer will be.

48 seconds of nightmare, pain and darkness, where now he will certainly go Ronda Rousey to perhaps never go back. It's not that she was knocked out - but she was knocked out, despite the fact that she remained on her feet. One blow came after another, all right in the head, in the jaw, in the nose, in the top of the head, and Rhonda was lost, stood on straight legs and backed towards the net, where she finished her off Nunez, and the referee was already saving him from more serious consequences.

“A knockout is not such a bad feeling,” he recalled after his fight with Sonny Liston Floyd Patterson. He was knocked out twice Liston in less than a round. “The worst part comes later when you get out of the ring and you have to look all these people in the face.”

And it's not a lack of a battle plan. Everyone has long understood that Edmond Tarverdyan- weak coach. But the decision to come back a year later against a champion who is bigger and more powerful - and to try to fight her stand-up rather than use her basic wrestling skills - was a decision she made herself. Stupid decision.

So did the fact that she had a fight with all or most of the media, saying they weren't supporting her enough after the loss, which is why Rousey refused to take part in all UFC pre-fight media activities.

“Well, Rhonda has done a lot for us, so she has the right to it,” he justified himself. Dana White. Rousey can have the right to anything - as long as she wins. True, it turned out that the credibility gained until last year is so huge that the UFC managed to sell out the arena in Vegas without the participation of the ex-champion. It is unknown whether this was a manifestation of character or lack thereof, but Rousey didn’t give a damn about anyone before this fight, and people came anyway. Perhaps for the last time - but they were there to see her sunset.

Now Rhonda can only find salvation in finding those to blame for her defeat and why her career so quickly came to a dead end. Surely if Holly Holm didn't lose Miesha Tate, and Tate - Nunes, and this is all over the past year, Ronda would not have fought the Brazilian. It is clear that both Tate and Holm are rivals in principle, but they are already well known to her, and it is easier to pick up the keys to them.

What the heck? If you pay your star $3 million, you have to make sure you keep him. Because if you are playing a story with the return of a legend and making some far-reaching plans for it, then these 3 million are an investment. And if not, and you throw it into the slaughterhouse with equal chances of success and failure - it’s the same as dumping this money in a pile, dousing it with gasoline and setting it on fire.

And then you deserve everything that happens next. The short-term effects include Ronda Rousey, dazed, lost, with red fluid streaming from her nose. Of the longer-lasting ones - you have a new champion who no one likes because she is too brutal, too out of class - she tried to deal with Tarverdyan after the fight and continued to prove to everyone after the victory that Ronda is insignificant, and this is now her time.

The arrival of Rousey at one time gave a powerful impetus to the development of women's fights, Ronda made them a trend, and they somehow held on for another year, but without a star of this caliber, it may well turn out that they are of little interest to the general public as a phenomenon.

Yes, there are still daring Polish girls Jedrzejczyk And Kowalkevich, there is "dancing with the stars" Paige Van Zant and Peruvian of Soviet origin Valentina Shevchenko, but the niche that remains after Rousey’s departure cannot be filled, perhaps, by anyone. And one more consequence for the UFC - Conor McGregor is guaranteed to remain the biggest star, generating the most money for the organization, and he will continue to dictate new terms in 2017, becoming increasingly brash and expensive.

And Ronda - she could continue to act in films, write books, and occasionally fight - but she didn’t need rivals with whom she might look bad. This is bad for business. How they prepared the return Tyson in the 90s when he got out of prison? Step by step, simple and clear battles, no chance for opponents. And then, when he was already completely bad and was on almost all types of drugs? Not a single almost dangerous opponent before the main box office battle, with Lennox Lewis.

Dana White and the UFC matchmakers either decided not to leave absolutely nothing to the new owners of the WME-IMG organization, or they didn’t really care about the fate of the second main person in MMA.

For such things in due time "Rampage" Jackson and was going to shoot his face Joe Silve", who gave him the wrong fights - and then "Rampage" went to Bellator, to direct competitors. Perhaps Rousey should do the same, if the contract allows. Many fighters feel quite happy there, there are fewer restrictions on sponsorship agreements and less obligations, there was money for Fedora Emelianenko- will be found on Rosie too.

But this is if the psyche of the ex-champion does not fail. If she still has this desire to go into the cage and win. If the audience still believes and wants to see her. Otherwise, it belongs in the dustbin of history - and over time, all women’s fights may end up there too.

As you know, Electronic Arts announced yesterday that Ronda Rousey will grace the cover of the mixed martial arts simulator UFC 2.

And today it became that Rousey suffered the first defeat in her career and lost the title of champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the bantamweight division. She lost to compatriot Holly Holm by knockout in Melbourne, after which she was hospitalized, TMZ reports. It is not specified how serious the athlete’s injuries were.

Before this fight, 28-year-old Rousey had 12 victories, including six in the UFC. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, she became a bronze medalist in judo in the weight category up to 70 kilograms. Rousey had her first fight in March 2011. Holm has 10 wins in 10 fights.

On August 1, Rousey defended her UFC title for the sixth time, defeating Brazilian Beth Correia in Rio de Janeiro.

By the way, this is not the first time that all sorts of troubles have happened to athletes who appeared on the covers of EA games. Boxing legend, invincible Roy Jones lost immediately after the release of FN, Bernard Hopkins, who had not lost for 12 years, immediately lost after the release of FNR2, Oscar De La Hoya lost immediately after the release of FNR3. UFC - Gustavson's series of losses and Jones's disqualification, UFC2 - Ronda's sensational defeat.

It all started with the cover of the Madden NFL games.

Of the 19 American football players who appeared next to the EA logo, 17 were soon injured or ended their playing season early. This series of coincidences is called The Madden Curse("Damn Madden") Electronic Arts even wanted to make a movie based on this phenomenon.

Ronda Rousey and coach

A crushing defeat for the former UFC champion Ronda Rousey caused a wide resonance among martial arts specialists. American sports journalist Matthias Predonzan believes that this is not just a loss, but a real blow to the MMA industry.

“I first heard about Ronda Rousey when she called for a fight Floyd Mayweather Jr.. I thought she was a man. Then I found out that she was an MMA fighter and a star, and only then did I get to know the sport a little. I don't know much about MMA. I come from boxing, so I can't understand the complexity of martial arts and I don't like the way they box.

Then, quite by accident, I saw a fight between Ronda and a former boxer Holly Holm. This fight showed me one thing: Ronda's limited experience.

At the very beginning of the fight, she encountered difficulties and completely lost control: she weakened her already not very strong defense and simply went towards Holm's blows.

She was so surprised by everything that was happening that she could hardly breathe as she sat there during the first break, and it was clear that a knockout was just a matter of time.

Everything is fair. Experience cannot be bought, it must be earned. She was good enough to win her first 12 fights, relying on her aggressive style and experience in judo when she fought on the canvas, but apparently she had simply never faced a boxer as strong as Holly Holm. Many months have passed and today I happened to see Rhonda's return. When I found out that her opponent would be the one who beat Holly Holm champion Amanda Nunes, I was amazed. I told myself that this is impossible in boxing. How about warm-up fights?

The outcome of the battle is known to everyone. Rhonda was literally paralyzed with fear and tension. She didn’t do anything: didn’t move, didn’t defend, didn’t clinch, just opened herself up to the blows. With all due respect to the champion, I think that even my Aunt Rosina could beat Ronda this evening. How could her managers make such a mistake?

She was a big person in MMA, but they just burned her out. In addition to its safety and sporting heritage (and we know how little these words mean today), Ronda Rousey represented the majority of MMA. And also, direct and indirect economic interests.

She had a long career in judo, a much less violent sport than MMA. She probably never knocked anyone out in training or left a cut.

She didn't lose to Holly on points, she was knocked out. And it was simply impossible for her to recover from this all at once without gradually regaining her confidence.

Manny Pacquiao also lost by knockout Juan Manuel Marquez(and even now you can see how this loss affected Manny's style) and he came back at a pretty high level. But Pacquiao has lost before, and he has serious boxing experience, and with all due respect to MMA, he Manny Pacquiao.

Returning to Ronda, even if she was able to refuse the fight against the demands of the team, it does not change the situation. It would only show that she doesn't trust or listen to her coach and has a bad manager.

She will never recover from this terrible mistake, which will come at a heavy price for MMA. Perhaps MMA is a product of our consumerist sport that has no respect for anything. Perhaps it's just a very young sport. All I know is that today we saw a very sad sight from all points of view.”

Amanda Nunes - Ronda Rousey (video)

, the best from Kolesnikov

Photo: theguardian.com

At the end of the year, the promoters returned two legendary fighters to the ring and into the cage, rightfully taking their place in the unofficial MMA Hall of Fame. In Japan, he walked in victory march Mirko Filipovic, and in the USA she tried to regain her belt, but the current champion shattered these dreams.

Rizin 3: Moldavian in the semi-finals

Nobuyuki Sakakibara continues to revive the traditions of Pride and at the end of the past year he organized another grand prix, this time in open weight. For modern mixed martial arts, such an idea seems a little outlandish, but if the Japanese public is willing to pay, then anything is possible. As usual, let's start with ours. Unlike last year's tournament, Vadim Nemkov was announced only as a reserve and met with Alison Vicente. At the very beginning of the fight, the Brazilian almost knocked the Russian to the canvas with a precise blow, but Vadim quickly got up and, during the counterattack, carried out a powerful series of blows from above, knocking out his opponent. Thus, Nemkov Jr. has rehabilitated himself for the defeat from Jiri Prochazka and at the next Rizin tournament he can again be included in the list of main participants.

Within the framework of the Grand Prix itself, Russia in general and FedorTeam in particular were represented by Valentin Moldavsky, going undefeated. In the fight against Theodoras Aukstuolis, the Russian's opponent Zimon Bajor looked more than decent and won in a dominant manner, however, when faced with the disciple of the Last Emperor, the Pole did not make such a bright impression. In the first round, Moldavsky dominated both stand-up and on the ground, demonstrating good movement and timing, and at the beginning of the second he almost fell for a kimura, but managed to get out and win by unanimous decision. In addition, Heath Herring, who had recovered considerably, gave a real fight, but still lost to Amir Aliakbari, the Estonian Baruto crushed Tsuyoshi Kosaka with a mass, and Mirko Filipovic unexpectedly quickly knocked out Mohammed Laval.

Rizin 4: Lugansk policeman never got to Croatian

Valentin Moldavsky failed to extend his winning streak. In the semi-final fight, the Russian was faster and more accurate in the standing position, but the world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling from Iran preferred to act in his familiar environment and controlled Moldavsky on the ground for most of the first round. The Iranian did not extract any special dividends from this, but due to his dominance, he certainly gained the segment. In the second round, the situation developed in approximately the same way, but it is worth highlighting a couple of points.

Firstly, Valentin instinctively grabbed the ropes several times to avoid falling. Secondly, Aliakbari delivered a prohibited elbow strike on the ground, which the referee in the ring specifically signaled to the side judges. When, at the end of the fight, Moldavsky managed to equalize the positions taking into account the penalty point, the judges gave Aliakbari a split decision instead of the third round. Most likely, this is due to the Russian’s violations, which, given the Iranian’s overall advantage, tipped the scales in his favor.

Mirko ends the year on a positive note, Amir Aliakbari is content with silver, and Valentin Moldavsky and Kaido Hevelson become bronze medalists of the tournament.

Thus, the graduate of the Lugansk University of Internal Affairs did not reach his colleague from Croatia, but he certainly provided himself with the opportunity to take a step forward. Moldavsky himself noted in an interview after the fight: “I’m used to always fighting better than my opponents, but here there was no advantage in the fight, after all, he is the world champion in classical wrestling in the heavyweight division. Therefore, the plan was to beat him as he retreated, to move to the sides when he advanced, but I was never able to fully implement this plan.”

The Croatian policeman, in turn, dealt with Baruto in 49 seconds, literally driving his knee into the massive body of the Estonian wrestler. In the final, Filipovic did with Aliakbari what Moldavsky could not do at the previous stage, namely, he tested the strength of the Iranian’s jaw. Having missed a sharp blow from the left, Aliakbari found himself on the canvas, quickly stood up, but did not escape the subsequent blows and finishing moves. As a result, Mirko ends the year on a positive note, Amir Aliakbari is content with silver, and Valentin Moldavsky and Kaido Hevelson become bronze medalists of the tournament.

207: Hello Cody! Goodbye Rhonda?

In the second most important event of the evening, Dominick Cruz intended to give the challenger a thorough beating and show how experience beats youth. However, Cody Garbrandt, who grew up watching the Dominator’s fights, did not fall for ageist tricks and already in the first round made it clear that he was 100% ready for all the champion’s surprises.

Cody presented his trophy to Maddux Maple, the boy who fulfilled his part of the promise by beating cancer.

Cruz began the fight by actively moving around the cage, as if spinning the Barcelona Tikitaka, but he could not confuse his opponent: Garbrandt reacted in a timely manner to all the enemy’s attacks and skillfully delivered blows towards him. Convinced that Cruz could not surprise anyone else, Garbrandt himself entered as number one in the third and fourth rounds and scored a series of knockdowns, after which the fifth round of the confrontation became a formality. It only remains to note that Cruz lost not by chance, but by class, while Garbrandt, being very sharp-tongued, not only answered for his words, but also in his person presented a new quality champion, from whom it will be difficult to take the belt away. Moreover, Cody presented his trophy to Maddux Maple, the boy who fulfilled his part of the promise by beating cancer. Garbrandt also kept his word, getting into and becoming a champion.

Pain, despair and helplessness are hardly enough words to describe the feelings regarding what is happening to Ronda Rousey and her legacy. Having missed the first blow, Rosie began to retreat, and after the second hit she was completely lost. The Brazilian Lioness, smelling blood, continued to attack until the referee intervened to stop the open beating of the mixed martial arts legend. Nunes won, but she won far from the same Ronda who recently crushed everyone.

I’m not sure it’s worth discussing the topic of unhealed psychological trauma and continuing training with Edmond Tarverdyan. Whatever decision Rousey makes, for us she is still a strong fighter and an ordinary person who has the right to make mistakes and failures. On an optimistic note, let me remind you that one of Ronda’s new sparring partners could be professional boxer from Kazakhstan Firuza Sharipova. Any change is development, which means it’s too early to talk about the end of the career of the most famous woman in MMA.

Also that evening, TJ Dillashaw defeated John Lineker by unanimous decision and is likely to get another title shot, Dong Hyun Kim defeated Tarec Saffedine by split decision, and Neil Magny appeared to retire Johny Hendrix, who suffered a already the third defeat in a row.

2016 is coming to an end for mixed martial arts fighters and fans around the world. Happy New Year! Play sports and take care of yourself!