It’s going down later tonight (Fri., Dec. 30, 2016) at UFC 207 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, as former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey makes her glorified return to the Octagon opposite current titleholder Amanda Nunes. It will mark Rousey’s first action since losing her belt to Holly Holm back at UFC 193 in Nov. 2015 and Nunes’ first title defense since claiming gold at UFC 200 this past July with a first-round submission of Miesha Tate.
Rousey has taken her sweet time in returning to action since her defeat to Holm, but you better believe she’s ready to reclaim her title tonight in “Sin City.” As “Rowdy” prepares to once again steal the limelight and cement her UFC legacy, Nunes will look to spoil her homecoming and snatch up the biggest win she’ll possibly ever have. To prepare ourselves for one hell of a main event to close out 2016, we take a closer look at what both Rousey and Nunes need to do to leave UFC 207 victorious.
Amanda Nunes
1. Overwhelm early …
Having not competed in more than 13 months, Rousey is most likely going to encounter some sort of cage rust in her championship tilt later this evening. To take advantage of an opponent who will be looking to rediscover herself in the early going, Nunes must attack Rousey from the opening bell in an attempt to overwhelm her senses.
While most of Rousey’s Octagon performances have lasted less than one minute, Nunes isn’t the type of fighter Rousey is going to bum rush. Instead, Nunes can flip the script, turn the tables, advance early, force Rousey to abandon her gameplan, make her flashback to her loss to Holm and take control as soon as the bout begins.
2. Strike from distance …
Nunes will find it beneficial to attack Rousey right out of the gate, but she must control her distance while doing so. Rousey is easily one of the best fighters in the division when it comes to scoring points in the clinch, forcing sweeps, securing takedowns and dragging a fight to the canvas. In order to land her own offense but avoid Rousey’s strong clinch game, Nunes needs to launch strikes from distance and use her explosiveness to exit after landing.
As a fighter who has been known to throw smashing leg kicks and spinning attacks to the body, Nunes should have the opportunity to keep Rousey at bay and the action on the feet. But, there may come a point in the fight when Nunes must decide to enter for a finish or not. If she misinterprets Rousey’s effectiveness she may give herself up and be forced to defend off her back.
Ronda Rousey
1. Keep her back off the cage …
Despite getting blasted by Holm just over a year ago, Rousey will most likely still possess some sort of confidence on her feet opposite Nunes. It’s just the type of competitor she is. She’ll look to prove a point and outpoint one of the more polished strikers in the division on the feet.
Nunes isn’t perfect standing, so Rousey could find some success if she’s able to counter successfully, but she must do everything in her power to keep her back off the cage. If she’s unable to do so, she may suffer the same fate as Tate did at UFC 200. For those you have already forgotten, Nunes landed vicious combinations on “Cupcake” along the cage, bloodied her face and forced her to drop to her hands and knees.
And based on their overall work inside of the Octagon, Tate is not only a better all-around striker than Rousey, but she can absorb more punishment. Rousey must proceed with caution on the feet.
2. Compete with the same confidence …
The biggest obstacle in Rousey’s way is not Nunes’ striking power, savvy ground game or explosive athleticism. It isn’t even the millions of eager fight fans vigorously watching her every move inside of the cage. Instead, Rousey is standing in her own way of succeeding at UFC 207.
Her loss to Holm was an inevitability considering nobody escapes this sport unscathed. But Rousey is the type of fighter to never forget a tough loss. She had imagined retiring undefeated and riding off into the MMA sunset with nine or 10 title defenses. Unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards. Heading into her comeback bout opposite a dangerous champion in Nunes, Rousey must put the past behind her and move forward with the same confidence she possessed when she knocked out Bethe Correia in 34 seconds, submitted Cat Zingano in 14 seconds, flattened Alex Davis in 16 seconds and kneed Sara McMann into oblivion.
If she’s unable to get out of her own way, this may be the very last time we see Rousey step inside of the cage. Some fighters just never get over a loss and it sends them into a vicious spiral. Let’s hope Rousey isn’t one of those fighters and channels her old self against Nunes.
Prediction: Rousey via first-round submission