UFC 207: Can Ronda Rousey Reclaim the Throne?
Ronda Rousey is returning to action at UFC 207. While she undoubtedly remains the face of women’s MMA, the real question is if she’s still the best fighter in her division.
A lot has changed since Ronda Rousey last held a UFC belt.
Several titles have changed hands. The promotion has finally made it to New York. She even has new bosses.
But when she enters the cage to face reigning bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, there will be pressure on her to prove that she remains the best female fighter in the world. Anything less than a victory will fuel talk that she is more prepared for a movie career than to stay in the fight game. Especially since 135 has been the most competitive division in all of the UFC in 2016.
In 2015, Rousey’s star power was unlike any the UFC had ever seen before. Each event she headlined was a can’t-miss event. She published an autobiography and appeared in blockbusters like Fast 7, all while destroying top contenders in record time in the cage.
So magnetic was her appeal that Rousey was sparking a conversation about not just the way society viewed women, but also how women viewed themselves. She had become, in short, the new face of MMA.
When she fell in stunning fashion to Holly Holm last November, the hype train stopped in its tracks. Save for a handful of appearances, she fell virtually off the map. While Rousey made headlines in her revealing interview with Ellen Degeneres, she has spent most of this year completely out of spotlight.
In her absence, the women’s bantamweight division underwent a second Renaissance. Holm fell to long-time contender Miesha Tate. Tate subsequently lost the title in equally stunning fashion to current champion Amanda Nunes. It was easily the most competitive division in the UFC in 2016, and Rousey didn’t even step foot in the cage.
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Even now, the names at the top of the division are very different than a year ago. Nunes is the champion, and the fighters on the short list for a title shot are Julianna Peña and Valentina Shevchenko. Familiar faces like Holm and Tate are coming off losses and have fallen out of the immediate title picture.
There is also the addition of Cris Cyborg to the ranks of the UFC. Depending on the outcome of the fight with Nunes, the long-awaited superfight between Cyborg and Rousey could come to fruition at a catchweight.
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If Rousey wants to retake her spot at the top of the division, she will have a new line of women to go through, a tall order for a fighter that hasn’t been in the Octagon in more than a year. That said, Rousey looked poised to complete a sweep of the top-10 in the division prior to losing. If she is even close to the form she was in 2015, it is not out of the realm of possibility for her to take over the division again.
Following the loss to Holm, the big question inside the cage will be whether Rousey has recovered mentally from the knockout loss. Rousey made tactical errors in her last fight and she will need to demonstrate that she can have a more disciplined approach against Nunes.
On paper, Nunes will have a power advantage on the feet that Rousey will have to be wary of. On the ground, Nunes is an experienced grappler in BJJ but Rousey’s ability to get submissions will grant her more weapons should the fight go to the mat.
Rousey is the sports most transcendent star. If her fall from the top of the mountain was shocking, one can only imagine what the reaction will be if she can conquer it again.
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