Amanda Nunes: Rousey Can’t Handle Losing, So The UFC Protects Her

Amanda Nunes discusses the Rousey-heavy promotion for UFC 207… Just last week UFC color commentator Joe Rogan made an interesting comment. Referring to the promotional content for UFC 207, Rogan said he found it ‘bizarre’ the UFC wasn’t really pushing Amanda Nunes. The current champion claimed the throne with a bloody finish over Miesha Tate

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Amanda Nunes discusses the Rousey-heavy promotion for UFC 207…

Just last week UFC color commentator Joe Rogan made an interesting comment. Referring to the promotional content for UFC 207, Rogan said he found it ‘bizarre’ the UFC wasn’t really pushing Amanda Nunes. The current champion claimed the throne with a bloody finish over Miesha Tate at UFC 200, but has taken a back seat to ex-champ Ronda Rousey. Considering how big of a draw Rousey was during her time as champion, this anomaly might be bizarre to JR, but is it unexpected?

Before being pulverized by Holly Holm at UFC 193, ‘Rowdy’ was a walking/talking PR machine. At the ‘GO BIG’ presser she claimed to be able to ‘beat every woman in the division with one hand.’ Stating she’d even test her skills against Cain Velasquez in battle, it seemed Rousey’s confidence was equally as large as the promotional dollars poured in to her hype machine. Ironically it was that same gargantuan train of media attention and air time that would focus heavily on her crushing loss.

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No-Shows & Promos

‘She’s Back!’ said the posters for UFC 207, as Rousey squared off with current champ Nunes before UFC 205. Storming off stage before she was able to be interviewed by Joe Rogan that November 11 evening, it looked like that tagline was true. Little did we know ‘Rowdy’s’ display that night would symbolise her intentions for the media obligations all together for her big comeback. Immediately questions were raised about her mental readiness for this war, and just last night it was confirmed she would be doing no media for UFC 207 whatsoever.

The combination of Rousey-skewed promos and the lack of her physical presence during the lead up to UFC 207 has raised many eyebrows. Feeling the promotion is trying to ‘coddle’ Rousey, Nunes tells MMAFighting.com during one of her many media shows that she’s not concerned:

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“She’s Not The Champion”

“The UFC wants to make it easier for her,” Nunes said. “So she doesn’t feel like she’s not the champion anymore. They want to make her feel like that, that she’s not the second [to me]. They want to make me kind of the second to make her get stronger or something. I feel like they tried … to promote her so she can be strong and see that. Like Ronda, Ronda Ronda, Ronda. But she knows she’s the challenger; I’m the champion. Nobody can change it. Nobody can make Ronda the champion. She’s not the champion anymore.”

“I think the UFC is doing it for her,” Nunes said. “I think the UFC has been doing all the promos for her. She can do whatever she wants. This is a part of my job, meeting with you guys and talking. I’m here.”

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“She Can’t Take The Loss”

“I think if you don’t know how to take a loss, for sure, it’s gonna play with your head a little bit,” Nunes said. “Really I don’t know what’s going on with Ronda right now. This whole thing, I really don’t know.”

“They see that,” Nunes said. “UFC sees that. That’s why they do that. Because she needs like a push so she can come back. But with me, nothing is gonna change. I really am gonna do the thing that I’m training for. And I’ve been ready for this moment. Videos, talk, nothing is gonna change the thing I’m gonna do that night.”

After UFC 207 on December 30 we’ll know exactly what the deal is. Losing for Rousey is not an option if she plans on fighting on past UFC 207. Seeing how she’s not willing to talk to the media in any form, do you think she’s already showing signs of defeat? Perhaps it’s just a tactic to remain focused, who knows.

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Ronda Rousey: I Might Cry Before, But I’m All Business On Fight Night

Former queen of the bantamweights Ronda Rousey is coming back on December 30, as she takes on current champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. Sitting out for a year following her crushing loss to Holly Holm, Rousey faces not only a dangerous new champion, but also many inner demons. Having faced deep depression following her

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Former queen of the bantamweights Ronda Rousey is coming back on December 30, as she takes on current champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. Sitting out for a year following her crushing loss to Holly Holm, Rousey faces not only a dangerous new champion, but also many inner demons. Having faced deep depression following her first ever pro loss, there’s a lot at stake for the once dominant champ at UFC 207.

With a loss against ‘The Lioness,’ Rousey could well retire from her illustrious fighting career. Already putting her fighting future in question, ‘Rowdy’ recently revealed her retirement is imminent, win or lose at UFC 207.

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Warrior Code

In her recent UFC on FOX segment called ‘Warrior Code,’ Ronda Rousey discussed a number of subjects ahead of UFC 207. From her nerves before fight night, to sacrifice and fame, ‘Rowdy’ revealed all in this in-depth interview:

“I feel most nervous two weeks before a fight, I call it ‘two week-itus.’ It’s when I feel the most emotional, my body is the most broken down, and I literally will cry over spilt milk. By the time I actually walk out, I’m tired of being nervous, so I just do what I need to do.”

“I don’t really think of the things I give up for my fights as a sacrifice. I’m happy to devote six weeks straight just to training, and to be moving around in a body that’s the most finely tuned fighting machine in the world. I feel like the biggest sacrifices have been made long before now, so I’m happy to embrace it.”

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“Everyone Has Reasons To Fight”

“I try not to call myself famous or think about it too much, because I’m scared of it. I’m really scared to lose my reference on reality. If you are socially unhealthy then you’ll be mentally unhealthy, so I’m trying to remain socially healthy so I don’t lose my reference on what’s real.”

“It’s a human sport, there’s an instinct in every person on this planet to fight, at any age. Everyone has a reason to fight. You have to have the personality to fight, and you can’t learn personality, you just have it. Fighters are born, and I was born a fighter.”

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Five Reasons Ronda Rousey Should Have Stayed Retired

Returning at UFC 207, former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is putting a lot on the line. Against the much larger Amanda Nunes, ‘Rowdy’ faces a ton of interesting challenges, but perhaps the most poignant will be the battle going on in her own mind. We haven’t seen Rousey compete in the UFC octagon since

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Returning at UFC 207, former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is putting a lot on the line. Against the much larger Amanda Nunes, ‘Rowdy’ faces a ton of interesting challenges, but perhaps the most poignant will be the battle going on in her own mind. We haven’t seen Rousey compete in the UFC octagon since November of last year, one year ago almost to the day. Taking on former boxing champion Holly Holm at UFC 193, the dominant queen of the 135-pounders was expected to take home a straight forward win.

As is often the case, MMA does not transpire along the format of the betting odds, and ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ provided the upset of the century. Blasting Rousey with her crisp striking, evading the confused champ’s attacks and grappling attempts, Holm finally put her foe down in the second frame. With her belt yanked away and her invincible aura shattered, Rousey went in to a dark place, and wouldn’t emerge for some time.

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Nunes vs. Rousey

Now set for a historic chance to become the first two-time women’s bantamweight champion, Rousey returns to a high pressure, high risk and potentially high reward scenario. In typical fashion of the brash ex-champ, she emerged at the UFC 205 weigh-ins for a staredown with her December 30 opponent Nunes, only to storm off the stage before the photo opportunity.

As we’ve come to expect from ‘Rowdy,’ all eyes are on her and the stakes are extremely high. For these following reasons, we feel Ronda Rousey would’ve been better off staying retired… 

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Health

There’s absolutely no denying the impact of Holly Holm’s shin on Ronda Rousey’s brain, and not just on the night of UFC 193. A knockout that brutal, heavy and concussive takes months, sometimes longer to get over. This isn’t to say ‘Rowdy’ has not had enough time, but simply that going back to the arena of combat could lead to further complications, should she receive another KO blow.

Also, it wasn’t just one single strike, Holm’s win was a culmination of precise and painful punches throughout their bout. Coming back against another dangerous striker in Nunes could prove to be ill-advised.

Continue to page 2 for more…

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Legacy Risk

Although this may not be the most pertinent point on the list, it’s still well worth debating. Ronda Rousey’s career as champion was like few others–she literally creamed the division for years, and set tons of records that will stay in play for a long time, some probably forever. Why risk her already legendary legacy for what could well be her last fight, regardless of the result?

Obviously the benefit would be gargantuan too, with the chance of setting more records, and possibly putting together a super fight with Cris Cyborg too. Weighing it up, though, this writer feels the risk-reward balance hangs slightly to the left.

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Absence

‘Cage rust’ is real, especially if you haven’t spent the entire time off training hard and working to get better. This isn’t to bash Rousey, but she went in to her own mind after losing to Holm, even stating she’d considered suicide. Along side the images of her weight gain, understandable and normal as that is, this combination is not congruent with an athlete who has been keeping trim and focused.

Although she looks a lot better in her most recent training footage, I can’t help but see that rust being a huge factor against the much more recently active Nunes.

Continue to page 3 for the rest…

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Bad Times

After seeing ow Ronda Rousey reacted to her first pro loss, there should be serious concern about another one. Depression is real, and if Ronda loses again and falls in to that sorrowful pit, who knows if she’ll ever re-emerge from it. There was a period of over six months where ‘Rowdy’ refused to even talk to the media about fighting. Troubled, yes, weak? Well, maybe no, if anything this just shows how passionate she was about the title.

Perhaps a tune up fight would have been a better idea, as mounting this much pressure on herself could prove to be a defining factor in Rousey’s performance too.

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Styles

Styles make fights, and unfortunately for Ronda Rousey, I feel Amanda Nunes has her kryptonite. After seeing how Holly Holm diffused Rousey’s grappling game, it seems obvious that ‘The Lioness’ will emulate those tactics on December 30. I think UFC 207 will show that once a fighter’s puzzle has been solved, it’s very hard to rekindle that unbeatable form.

Nunes is big, strong, a powerful striker and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. This combination of skills, being a naturally larger fighter, being more active, probably having a mental edge, and the existing troubles in Ronda’s recent past all play a big role.

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Cris Cyborg Posts Furious Response To Rousey vs. Nunes

The heavily reported fight between women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and former queen Ronda Rousey at UFC 207 is expected to be finalized this week. After nearly a year on the sidelines, ‘Rowdy’ appears to be getting the fast track to a title fight, but not to everyone’s pleasure. In particular, long time rival Cris

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The heavily reported fight between women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and former queen Ronda Rousey at UFC 207 is expected to be finalized this week. After nearly a year on the sidelines, ‘Rowdy’ appears to be getting the fast track to a title fight, but not to everyone’s pleasure. In particular, long time rival Cris Cyborg is very unhappy with this report. Following years of intense trash talk between the Brazilian Cyborg and Rousey, many expected a fight to finally come to fruition by 2017.

Ironically, Rousey losing the belt somewhat freed her to potentially move up in weight and face Cyborg. Even without a title, the fight with Justino would likely shatter all pay-per-view records. Cyborg vs. Rousey is becoming more and more like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao as the days go by. Sadly, much like the boxing equivalent, this mega rivalry may never lead to a fight while both are in their prime. Reactions to Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey have varied, but Cyborg’s furious response stands out above all the rest. As per her official Facebook page:

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Why my fight with Ronda Rousey might never happen.

I just arrived to Thailand for my first International Pink Belt Fitness By Cris Cyborg being held Phuket Top Team MMA Training Camp and it appears the internet is announcing Ronda Rousey Vs. Amanda Nunes for the UFC belt Dec. 30th.

The ridiculousness of Ronda getting a Title Shot after a loss and a year layoff just goes to support the story that she was created by the Media. More than any fighter who has ever existed, Ronda has benefited by company branding. She has benefited from the best interviews, the best sponsors, and the best fight promos and spotlights, but even with all of that marketing budget behind her, everyone has seen that she is not the best.

The best don’t lose like she did in Australia, and they certainly don’t take a year off after such a performance.

There is a reason Ronda isn’t facing Holly Holm. That reason isn’t the fact that Holly has gone 0-2 since their fight. The reason is that even Ronda, knows Holly is the better fighter. Styles make fights, and that is the same reason Ronda is never going to accept a fight against me. She knows my punches, size, and aggression are too much. That’s why she will demand I try to kill myself to make 135. She doesn’t want Cyborg to be Cyborg.

Continue below…

Cris Cyborg

I only went to 140lbs in an attempt to make the fight against Ronda Rousey.

For the past year I have put the entire 145lbs division of WMMA on Hold competing in Superfights. Unlike Conor Mcgregor my “superfights” have not been against big name opponents, and similar to Jose Aldo there are girls in my division like Megan Anderson, Cindy Dandois, Julia Budd, and Alexis Dufresene who are next in line for World Title shots.

I can not force someone to accept a fight against me. Ronda use to say it was about steroids, but I’ve proven myself a clean athletes and was the FIRST FIGHTER to test with USADA for MORE THAN 1 YEAR BEFORE fighting in the octagon.

Ronda never fought to win her UFC belt, she received it at a press conference and when she defended it she didn’t even face the number 1 contender. While she is the most popular fighter in the UFC according to some, numbers don’t lie, and her highest PPV was her loss against Holly Holm, and that isn’t even top 5 with the company.

I don’t need a fight with Ronda Rousey to make a million dollars. I don’t even need to make a million dollars to fight. Fans are going to watch me fight because they like my fighting style. Fans are going to watch me fight because what I bring to the cage is something they have never seen before. Over 1.3 million fans watched my last fight against an opponent making her debut. I can be as big of a star as any female fighter in this sport with the right marketing and promotional team behind me.

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Not Surprised

I’m disappointed Ronda didn’t accept my offer to fight superbowl weekend, but I am not surprised. She already turned down the opportunity to fight me at UFC 205 which has continued to open the door for Conor Mcgregor to continue growing into the biggest star the UFC has ever promoted, because he is willing to walk the walk, and she is afraid to back up the years of media bullying she’s done towards me.

Ronda has a very tough fight against Amanda Nunes. She will be facing a big brazilian girl who knows how to defend an Armbar, and is training at a facility with many World Champions who will have her ready for a 5 round fight. Amanda punches hard and has trained her entire career with the idea of beating Ronda. Unlike Holly Holm, if Ronda Rousey goes 0-2 I am not sure she will continue to fight. She is fighting to win a popularity contest and win back an image, not to prove anything to herself. She never wanted to give the fans this fight against me.

I am going to enjoy my holiday, and stop thinking about a fight against Ronda Rousey for awhile.

The #UFC knows I want to fight Ronda, Ronda knows I want to fight her, and the UFC knows the fans want to see this fight. It would break every UFC PPV record and as a promoter they want to put on the biggest fights for the fans.

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Not Even Going To Watch

 

If the fight against #RondaRousey never happens, the fans will know it is because the promotion was unable to make the fight, not because I was unwilling to lose the weight or because of some failed PED test half a decade ago. Ronda has chose the easy path her entire career, and that is not going to change.

People have shown Ronda is willing to fight others at 140 and has fought higher than 145. The weight is an excuse. I am from a team where legends like Wanderlia Silva, and Pele didn’t think twice about giving up weight to fight guys like Mark Hunt and Chuck Liddell.

Dec. 31st while everyone is watching Ronda fight for ‘Her belt’, despite not facing the girl who took it away, I am not even going to watch. I have plans to corner Gabi Garcia in the first ever OPEN WEIGHT RIZIN FF female challenge in Japan.

Ronda, if you really want to make the fight between us it is very simple, after the fight inside the cage all you have to do is say my name. Everyone knows that you are not going to do that because then I am going to be real. #Candyman

If you don’t want to make the fight, just keep doing what you are doing now, keep my name out your mouth and avoid the press. My next fight is not going to be decided on what ‘Ronda might’ want to do next.

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Report: Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey In December

Fans of Brazilian knockout artist Cris Cyborg might be unhappy to hear this… There’s been a ton of speculation about former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey in recent weeks. Following Amanda Nunes’ title win against Miesha Tate at UFC 200, ‘Lioness’ claimed she wanted Rousey in her first title defense. At the time ‘Rowdy’

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Fans of Brazilian knockout artist Cris Cyborg might be unhappy to hear this…

There’s been a ton of speculation about former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey in recent weeks. Following Amanda Nunes’ title win against Miesha Tate at UFC 200, ‘Lioness’ claimed she wanted Rousey in her first title defense. At the time ‘Rowdy’ was recovering from some minor surgeries, now things are starting to look a little different. Yesterday images surfaced of ‘Rowdy’ looking in fighting shape again, but fans had mostly hoped for the long awaited clash with Cris Cyborg.

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After a year away from the sport following her brutal loss to Holly Holm, Ronda Rousey is reported to be returning against Amanda Nunes. Although Ariel Helwani is not an official source for UFC fight announcements, he’s proven to be extremely reliable in the past. Before calling it a night late Tuesday, Helwani posted this bombshell to Twitter. Considering his accuracy of all things UFC in the past year, nearly getting banned for life from UFC events in the process, this is as close to gospel as it gets right now:

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Rousey vs. Nunes

UFC 193 marked the last time Ronda Rousey fought, and the final time she walked to the UFC octagon as champion. Following her soul-crushing defeat to ‘The Preacher’s Daughter,’ Rousey’s future in the sport became uncertain. Perhaps due to the mass amount of hype behind her, ‘Rowdy’ had really bought in to the indestructible aura she flaunted. In the fight game, there’s no such thing, and the realization of this was possibly more hard to swallow than the head kick that toppled the queen from the throne.

Two champions later, and the talk is once again all about ‘Rowdy,’ but will she be able to bounce back? Nunes is big for the division, has nice striking and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. UFC 207 goes down in the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV on December 30. Stay tuned for more news and updates.

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