Ronda Rousey’s UFC 207 Return Ends in Disappointment

Ronda Rousey's highly anticipated return to the UFC ended in bitter disappointment. The former UFC women's bantamweight champion got absolutely obliterated by reigning champion Amanda Nunez last Friday night in Las Vegas during UFC 207.

Fans who thought that Rousey's defeat to Holly Holm last November 2015 was brutal were treated to yet another shocker. It took Nunez only 48 seconds in the first round to finish off the former champion. Nunez managed to land a solid right just a few seconds into the fight that had Rousey reeling. Rousey was fighting for the first time in more than a year after she was upset by Holly Holm in UFC 193.

Nunes landed 23 of 25 strikes during the bout, all of which were pretty powerful shots. She had Rousey backed up in the first few seconds of the bout and simply dominated her until the end. This marks Rousey's second consecutive defeat and the future of her MMA career is now in question. Her much anticipated return managed to draw a sold out crowd of more than 19,000 in the T-Mobile Arena, and pay-per-view sales are also expected to exceed $1 million, according to Yahoo Sports.

Despite that, Rousey walked away with a guaranteed $3 million payday. Prior to the bout, she had a media blackout and did not grant that many interviews in the buildup to the fight. According to The Independent, she continued her self-imposed media blackout even after the fight. Now it seems like she might no longer be fighting in the octagon again. Rousey had mentioned in the past how she will decide on when to retire based on how much damage she takes.

Throughout her illustrious career, her judo skills made her one of the most dominant women's fighters in MMA history, and she was able to convincingly win the first 12 fights of her career with her devastating armbar submission hold.

While Rousey had some pretty solid strikes of her own, her striking defense was one of her biggest weaknesses, and she struggled against talented strikers like Holmes and Nunes. If this lost does indeed force her to retire, then it would mark the end of what has truly been an incredible career.