Over a year after stepping out of the fight spotlight, Ronda Rousey made her return to UFC Saturday to face off against Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes. Oddsmakers heavily favored Nunes to walk out victorious, and she didn’t disappoint, putting her legendary opponent down in just 48 seconds to retain her championship.
Rousey continued to avoid the media by not giving a post-fight press conference, but UFC President Dana White had this to say about the former champ’s reaction to her stunning loss:
“I’ve been with her the whole time. Obviously, she’s so competitive. She’s devastated. She’s a competitor. She’s a lot better than the Holly Holm fight. She was backstage and obviously she was upset. But she’s got a lot of support for her, and I think it’ll be a lot better than the Holm fight.“
Nunes was much less sympathetic towards Rousey, blasting her for not being a “real fighter”. Nunes also said that it’s time for the media to stop focusing on Rousey now that she remains the champion. White was criticized for doing just that heading into UFC 207, but had this to say about promoting Rousey’s return more heavily than Nunes and her title defense:
“Everyone was chirping about the promotion for this fight, it was all Ronda based. I could have spent $100 million on advertising and nobody would still have known who Amanda was. After tonight, everyone knows who Amanda Nunes is now, okay? Tomorrow morning, ask somebody who Amanda Nunes is, now they know. That’s why I’m the promoter and everyone else isn’t.”
With Rousey’s continued media blackout, it’s hard to say for certain where the former Olympian will go next. However, with higher spirits and that $3 million pay day, we’re gonna go ahead and say she’s not too worried at the moment.