Rousey has been perfect in all her six UFC bouts so far, but what has been her finest performance so far?
6. vs. Sara McMann
UFC 170, 2014
Undefeated as a professional mixed martial artist and an Olympic medalist just like Rousey, Sara McMann entered UFC 170 highly touted as the champion’s toughest test to date. A decorated freestyle wrestler, McMann also posed a threat on the feet with her previous victory being an impressive TKO victory over Sheila Gaff. Rousey didn’t care for such achievements however and charged her challenger down from the start. Clinched against the fence, Rousey bombarded McMann with blistering knees until a final blow to the liver had the beleaguered challenger on her knees.
After this performance don’t expect any of Rousey’s challengers to engage in any pre-match trash talking. Correia’s controversial comments leading into their main event clash at UFC 190 fired the champion up more than we’d seen at that point. The then-undefeated ‘Pitbull’ already had a difficult test ahead of her; prodding the hornet’s nest probably wasn’t the best idea.
Closing the distance immediately, Rousey’s gameplan was obvious: To inflict pain and misery on her latest adversary. Her wild approach eventually saw Correia lying face-down and unconscious on the canvas after just a minute on the clock. It was an emphatic victory for the champion, but the performance was reckless and driven by emotion rather than pure skill and technique. Rousey will need to ensure that this doesn’t happen against the more talented challengers for her title.
4. vs. Cat Zingano
Fight fans had been waiting almost two years to see Cat Zingano challenge for the title, but unfortunately for Rousey’s latest challenger the end result was a fight significantly shorter than what she had hoped. Ferocious and well-rounded, Zingano was all set to provide the champion with her toughest test, but for some reason decided to abandon whatever her gameplan was in favor of a wild lunge at the champion.
Rousey didn’t quite anticipate the move, but in a stunning moment, was able to reverse position and trap her challenger’s arm. With the arm isolated the champion quickly twisted the limb, forcing the tap after just 14 seconds of round one action. The victory was almost a gift from Zingano, but Rousey showed remarkable composure and skill to turn such an unexpected attack into an excellent fight winning sequence.
3. vs. Liz Carmouche
Making history as the first woman to defend gold inside the Octagon, Rousey’s crowning achievement nearly ended very differently. Facing the former Marine Liz Carmouche in her first UFC title defense, Rousey’s early attempt to take the fight to the ground saw the underdog challenger take the champion’s back and nearly end the fight with a excruciating face crank.
Rousey proved her championship pedigree however and recovered to drag the fight into her comfort zone. The tough and durable Carmouche had trained extensively to avoid Rousey’s feared armbar, but for all of her preparation the ‘Girl-Rilla’ just couldn’t prevent the champion from savagely tearing her limb into position, prompting an immediate tap and ending the bout just before the end of the first round.
2. vs. Miesha Tate
Continuing a rivalry that started in Strikeforce and grew in intensity during season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter, Miesha Tate became the second woman to challenge for Rousey’s UFC title. Arguably the best female other than the champion in the sport at the time, Tate walked into the anticipated rematch determined to avenge her heart (and arm) breaking loss to her rival almost two years prior.
‘Cupcake’ may have fallen considerably short in her challenge but gained a moral victory by becoming the first woman to drag the champion beyond the opening frame. Other than that it was another excellent performance from Rousey, who demonstrated improved striking along with a remarkable, almost effortless ability to take Tate down with several expertly executed judo throws. An impressive defense for the champion, who proved without a doubt that was deserving of the label ‘best in the world’.
1. vs. Alexis Davis
Few predicted a win for Alexis Davis heading into her shot at the champion back in the summer of 2014, but even fewer could have anticipated that such a swift and violent bout. The most dangerous ground expert the champion has faced so far, Davis had all the tools to evade Rousey’s dreaded armbar, but wasn’t given a chance to demonstrate even a flicker of her skills.
Moving quickly into the centre as she usually does, Rousey closed the distance and connected with a short knee before grabbing her stunned opponent’s head, tossing her to the mat and finishing the fight with nearly a dozen short blows. The whole sequence, all 16 seconds of it, is one of the most violent and visually stunning moments in UFC history, rivalled arguably only by Gary Goodridge’s ‘goose neck’ finish of Paul Herrera at UFC 8.
Rousey was considered a dominant champion prior to this bout. The manner of her performance here only served to further enhance her terrifying reputation as an unstoppable force in her field. As Joe Rogan says probably too many times, an historic, once-ever athlete.
How would you rank Rousey’s UFC performances? Will see retain against Holly Holm in this weekend's UFC 193 main event? Will she ever be beaten? Leave your comments below!
Undefeated as a professional mixed martial artist and an Olympic medalist just like Rousey, Sara McMann entered UFC 170 highly touted as the champion’s toughest test to date. A decorated freestyle wrestler, McMann also posed a threat on the feet with her previous victory being an impressive TKO victory over Sheila Gaff. Rousey didn’t care for such achievements however and charged her challenger down from the start. Clinched against the fence, Rousey bombarded McMann with blistering knees until a final blow to the liver had the beleaguered challenger on her knees.
Unfortunately however the call to stop the match was made far too prematurely. McMann was undeniably hurt and in trouble, but it was quite clear that she was still attempting to defend herself. Rousey improved to 4-0 inside the Octagon after just a minute, but this one should have gone a little longer.
5. vs. Bethe Correia
5. vs. Bethe Correia
UFC 190, 2015
After this performance don’t expect any of Rousey’s challengers to engage in any pre-match trash talking. Correia’s controversial comments leading into their main event clash at UFC 190 fired the champion up more than we’d seen at that point. The then-undefeated ‘Pitbull’ already had a difficult test ahead of her; prodding the hornet’s nest probably wasn’t the best idea.
Closing the distance immediately, Rousey’s gameplan was obvious: To inflict pain and misery on her latest adversary. Her wild approach eventually saw Correia lying face-down and unconscious on the canvas after just a minute on the clock. It was an emphatic victory for the champion, but the performance was reckless and driven by emotion rather than pure skill and technique. Rousey will need to ensure that this doesn’t happen against the more talented challengers for her title.
4. vs. Cat Zingano
UFC 184, 2015
Fight fans had been waiting almost two years to see Cat Zingano challenge for the title, but unfortunately for Rousey’s latest challenger the end result was a fight significantly shorter than what she had hoped. Ferocious and well-rounded, Zingano was all set to provide the champion with her toughest test, but for some reason decided to abandon whatever her gameplan was in favor of a wild lunge at the champion.
Rousey didn’t quite anticipate the move, but in a stunning moment, was able to reverse position and trap her challenger’s arm. With the arm isolated the champion quickly twisted the limb, forcing the tap after just 14 seconds of round one action. The victory was almost a gift from Zingano, but Rousey showed remarkable composure and skill to turn such an unexpected attack into an excellent fight winning sequence.
3. vs. Liz Carmouche
UFC 157, 2013
Making history as the first woman to defend gold inside the Octagon, Rousey’s crowning achievement nearly ended very differently. Facing the former Marine Liz Carmouche in her first UFC title defense, Rousey’s early attempt to take the fight to the ground saw the underdog challenger take the champion’s back and nearly end the fight with a excruciating face crank.
Rousey proved her championship pedigree however and recovered to drag the fight into her comfort zone. The tough and durable Carmouche had trained extensively to avoid Rousey’s feared armbar, but for all of her preparation the ‘Girl-Rilla’ just couldn’t prevent the champion from savagely tearing her limb into position, prompting an immediate tap and ending the bout just before the end of the first round.
2. vs. Miesha Tate
UFC 168, 2013
Continuing a rivalry that started in Strikeforce and grew in intensity during season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter, Miesha Tate became the second woman to challenge for Rousey’s UFC title. Arguably the best female other than the champion in the sport at the time, Tate walked into the anticipated rematch determined to avenge her heart (and arm) breaking loss to her rival almost two years prior.
‘Cupcake’ may have fallen considerably short in her challenge but gained a moral victory by becoming the first woman to drag the champion beyond the opening frame. Other than that it was another excellent performance from Rousey, who demonstrated improved striking along with a remarkable, almost effortless ability to take Tate down with several expertly executed judo throws. An impressive defense for the champion, who proved without a doubt that was deserving of the label ‘best in the world’.
1. vs. Alexis Davis
UFC 175, 2014
Few predicted a win for Alexis Davis heading into her shot at the champion back in the summer of 2014, but even fewer could have anticipated that such a swift and violent bout. The most dangerous ground expert the champion has faced so far, Davis had all the tools to evade Rousey’s dreaded armbar, but wasn’t given a chance to demonstrate even a flicker of her skills.
Moving quickly into the centre as she usually does, Rousey closed the distance and connected with a short knee before grabbing her stunned opponent’s head, tossing her to the mat and finishing the fight with nearly a dozen short blows. The whole sequence, all 16 seconds of it, is one of the most violent and visually stunning moments in UFC history, rivalled arguably only by Gary Goodridge’s ‘goose neck’ finish of Paul Herrera at UFC 8.
Rousey was considered a dominant champion prior to this bout. The manner of her performance here only served to further enhance her terrifying reputation as an unstoppable force in her field. As Joe Rogan says probably too many times, an historic, once-ever athlete.
How would you rank Rousey’s UFC performances? Will see retain against Holly Holm in this weekend's UFC 193 main event? Will she ever be beaten? Leave your comments below!
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