UFC 184 Recap
In Feb 2013, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey became the UFC’s first ever women’s champion. Her historic title reign is still going strong two years later, and after last night the queen of the bantamweights still remains atop her throne.
At Los Angeles’ Staples Center, Rousey treated fight fans to another historical moment in UFC lore. Her main event bout with “Alpha” Cat Zingano was UFC 184’s most anticipated fight for a couple of reasons. Both women were stepping into the octagon as undefeated fighters, and Zingano was billed as Rousey’s toughest opponent yet due to her well rounded skills.
I assumed Zingano’s fight plan would be to keep the fight standing. Even with her Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt pedigree, I didn’t think it was in Cat’s best interests to attempt any takedowns on Ronda. My pre fight bullet points proved to be very true indeed.
At start of the fight, Cat charged at Ronda and tied her up which lead to a takedown for Cat. One second Cat was on top of Ronda, and the next Ronda flipped Cat over to gain top position. From there, Ronda secured a straight armlock to force Cat to tap. All this went down in just 14 seconds.
Ronda’s latest victory is the shortest championship fight in UFC history, and it’s also the only UFC championship fight without a landed strike. This was Ronda’s fifth title defense in the octagon, and her second consecutive fight that didn’t hit the 30 second mark. Lastly, Ronda earned her 9th submission victory as a pro fighter.
With the win, Rousey is 11-0 in her career while Zingano (9-1) earns her first loss. Zingano was visibly distraught after the fight, and quickly began campaigning for a rematch. If Zingano doesn’t get a rematch, then Rousey’s next opponent could be Holly Holm or Bethe Correia (both mentioned by Rousey in her post fight interview with Joe Rogan).
Whoever fights Ronda should by now to keep the fight standing. Otherwise, another name will be added to Ronda’s list of conquered opponents.
Other Notable Fights from UFC 184:
Holly Holm defeats Raquel Pennington via split decision.
Jake Ellenberger defeats Josh Koscheck via submission (North-South Choke) at 4:20 of Round 2.
Alan Jouban defeats Richard Walsh via KO (elbow & strikes) at 2:19 of Round 1.
Tony Ferguson defeats Gleison Tibau via submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:37 of Round 1.
