Ronda Rousey stoic during intense staredown with Amanda Nunes
LAS VEGAS — Ronda Rousey cracked a smile as she was greeted with a raucous chorus of applause from the Las Vegas crowd while she made her way to the stage for the UFC 207 weigh-ins on Friday.
For the first time in her UFC career, Rousey entered as the challenger after losing the women's bantamweight title to Holly Holm in November 2015, which is also the last time she entered the Octagon.
Rousey seemed to enjoy the reaction from the crowd before she stood on the scale at 135 pounds for her title fight on Friday night.
Current champion Amanda Nunes walked out wearing a lion mask — symbolic of her nickname "The Lioness" — as she also hit the mark at 135 pounds.
Afterwards, Nunes removed the mask and came face-to-face with Rousey for the first time since they squared off at the UFC 205 weigh-ins in November.
Much like the last time, Nunes and Rousey engaged in an intense face-off with fists raised in the air before UFC president Dana White separated the two of them.
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There were no handshakes or hugs and Rousey quickly turned around before leaving the arena in great haste, once again keeping her vow of silence during fight week.
For her part, Nunes seemed to soak in the moment despite the pro-Rousey crowd giving her more boos than cheers. Of course, Nunes will be more than happy to disappoint them on Friday by doing her best to hand Rousey a second straight loss.
"It means everything to me," Nunes said about the fight. "I will show everybody I'm the real champion. I will show you guys.
"Be ready for tomorrow night."
