LAS VEGAS — If the Ronda Rousey who won her first 12 mixed martial arts bouts shows up Friday night at T-Mobile Arena, then she’ll regain the UFC women’s bantamweight championship at UFC 207.
If it’s the Rousey that’s prepared, determined and focused, then she’ll take the title from Amanda Nunes and regain the feeling of superiority she owned 13 months ago before losing to Holly Holm.
But if Rousey has lost any confidence, if she’s more concerned about distancing herself from the public or if she’d rather be somewhere else other than the Octagon, then this will officially end the “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey era as we’ve known it.
The prediction here is the former, with Rousey winning by submission late in the first-round.
Rousey certainly looked ripped and ready during the official weigh-in Thursday morning. Her body was tight and lean as she stepped on the scales that registered 135 pounds. She actually smiled briefly, but then marched off without posing for the cameras or saying anything to anyone.
Except for brief faceoff with Nunes, she did the same at the public weigh-in later in the day.
If looks mean anything, Rousey might be in the best shape of her career. She reportedly trained twice-a-day, six days a week for her return against Nunes, the hard-punching Brazilian who won the UFC women’s bantamweight title with a first-round submission of a battered Miesha Tate at UFC 200. It was Tate’s first title defense after winning the belt in Holm’s first defense after defeating Rousey with a stunning second-round TKO at UFC 193 at Melbourne, Australia.
Rousey, who will enter the Octagon as a challenger for the first time since 2012, has offered plenty of reasons for her loss to Holm.
She had just 44 days to train after the fight, originally scheduled for January 2016, was moved up to November 2015 because of an injury to headliner Robbie Lawler. She said she was weak and dehydrated from the weight cut from 150 pounds, and had a bad knee that would require surgery last summer. In addition, Rousey said she wasn’t totally focused on the fight because she spent too much time trying to appease too many people outside of the Octagon.
There should be no excuses Friday night. Rousey (12-1) has had everything her way in preparation for the return. She dictated when she would fight and minimized her promotional obligations, eliminating the traditional fight week public workouts and press conferences.
“All I care about is winning this f–king fight,” she told ESPN.
Still, we won’t really know if Rousey has the hunger to be a champion again until she steps in against Nunes (13-4). When Rousey debuted in the UFC four years ago, she was driving a Honda and trying to make a name for herself. Now she’s a global star, who has graced numerous magazine covers, appeared in movies, chatted with Ellen DeGeneres, hosted “Saturday Night Live” and become a best-selling author. She’s talked about having babies with boyfriend MMA-fighter Travis Browne, and often sounds like someone who could be content without an MMA career.
Yet, she returns to the Octagon because “I want to be able to walk away with my head held high,” she told ESPN.
Rousey, a slight favorite, has played the part of former champion determined to regain her belt. She has talked tough in the video promotions produced by the UFC and coined the hashtag #FearTheReturn. But it’s unclear who should be fearful. A loss would be devastating not only to Rousey, but to the UFC. Conor McGregor became the face of the company during Rousey’s absence, but there are few others with the star power to generate huge pay-per-view numbers, especially with Jon Jones on suspension and Cris Cyborg facing possible suspension for anti-doping violations.
Nunes, 28, wants to be the next star. She was a huge underdog when she pounded Tate with vicious strikes before submitting her to become the first female from Brazil to win a belt.
“This is the fight I can make a statement in the division,” Nunes said, “because everybody thinks she can be the champ again.”
Rousey will make her own statement one way or the other.
What to look for
- This fight figures to end in the first round one way or another: Amanda Nunes, who has nine wins by knockout, is a hard-punching striker, who likes to start fast as she did in battering Miesha Tate for the title at UFC 200. She has a reputation for fading in later rounds, but that’s not something Ronda Rousey can depend on.
- Rousey has been known to take a few while working her way inside for a clinch and then a takedown, so her chin is likely to be tested, especially after being off for more than a year. If she can withstand the early assault and get inside, she can use her judo skills to get Nunes to the ground where she has ended nine of her fights by armbar submission.
- It will be interesting to see if Nunes goes against her instinct to come forward and play it cautious and avoid be taken to the ground. It’s more likely she’ll be the aggressor, get caught in an early clinch turning the match into a test of Rousey’s ground skills and Nunes’ underrated jiu-jitsu. The pick here is Rousey by first-round arm-bar submission.