After staying undefeated at UFC 184 on Saturday night in Los Angeles, Ronda Rousey is doing something special in the sport of mixed martial arts. That’s made all the more true when one factors in her dispatching of top contender Cat Zingano in a mere 14 seconds in the first round.
The domination she’s showing is so impressive, it’s drawing comparisons to the peak reign of former boxing heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Just as Tyson would dispatch seemingly top contenders with ease, Rousey is doing just that. It’s not a contest of whether she’ll beat her opposition, but how fast.
“There’s no doubt about it,” UFC president Dana White said at the post-fight presser when asked about whether it was appropriate to make the comparison between Rousey and Tyson.
“She is – without a doubt – that female version of him,” he continued. “I told her. We just talked about this. It got to a point with the Tyson thing where…well, tonight. Let’s talk about tonight.
“You guys have been around the fight game a long time,” White told the media. “There’s very few situations where a fight goes 14 seconds and the crowd is cheering and going crazy, looking at each other with their mouths open.”
According to White, however, that’s just what happened at the Staples Center on Saturday night. And there’s a very good reason for it, he noted.
“Everybody knows how awesome Ronda is, but everybody was looking at everybody with their mouths open because she was fighting Cat Zingano. This was going to be a tough-ass fight.”
After moving to 11-0 in her professional fighting career, White believes Rousey is so far past her contemporaries that there’s no way to deny her.
“Ronda is definitely there,” White reaffirmed. “That’s exactly what she reminds me of. The answer is yes.”