UFC 207: Ronda Rousey Working With Olympic Boxer Mikaela Mayer
Former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has brought in a specialist training partner ahead of UFC 207.
Through out her amazing career the question often asked about Ronda Rousey was how would she be able to handle herself against a top-notch, world-class striker? Well at UFC 193 last November that question was answered when Holly Holm stunned the world by knocking Rousey out cold to claim the title.
Since the shock loss to Holm in Australia, Rousey has been away from the sport and many wondered if she would ever return to the cage that she so dominantly reigned over for many years.
Well after a year out the spotlight it was announced that she would return later this year at UFC 207 where she would challenge, another devastating striker, Amanda Nunes for the title.
Nunes (13-4) claimed the gold in the first round of the main event at UFC 200 where she battered Miesha Tate on the feet, knocking her down and then sinking in a rear-naked-choke forcing the former champion to tap. Nunes is dangerous both on the ground as well as the feet and has finished five of her seven UFC wins before the judges rendered their decision.
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Prior to her title shot at UFC 200, Nunes had tasted promotional defeat just once at the hands of top ranked bantamweight Cat Zingano. On her journey to glory against Tate at UFC 200, Nunes finished Sheila Gaff, Germaine de Randamie, Shayna Baszler and Sara McMann.
She also beat Valentina Schevchenko via unanimous decision three months before claiming the title.
The fact that Amanda Nunes has only one decision victory on her record should be of major concern to team Rousey. The young Brazilian will be a tough test for the returning former champion but it seems that the Olympic Judoka is in good hands.
It seems that Rousey wants to leave no leaf unturned in terms of her preparation for her UFC 207 opponent. The team has brought in USA Olympic boxer Mikaela Mayer to help with the striking aspect of her game. Pictures of the two after a training session surfaced on Saturday to further confirm the two Olympians are indeed in camp together.
Mayer may just be the training partner that Rousey has so badly needed to help improve her striking. The 26-year old Boxer is a former 2x US National Champion and 4x National Golden Glove Champion who represented the USA in the 2016 Olympic games in Brazil, so in other words this young lady is a legit striker who could give Ronda the golden ticket into the world of phenomenal stand up skills.
While Ronda always had a good team around her at the Glendale Fighting Club the addition of this world-class striker will be a huge factor leading into her comeback fight later this year. Rousey has always been a great fighter but should she be able to tap into Mayer’s skill set she may walk out of UFC 207 a champion once again.
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