The talk and the buildup leading to the women’s bantamweight title at UFC 184 on March 1 were way longer than the fight itself.
It only took defending champion Ronda Rousey all of 14 seconds to defeat challenger Cat Zingano via an acrobatic armbar submission maneuver to retain her title and post her 11th straight victory at the UFC with still no loss, reports Yahoo! News.
Zingano was also unbeaten prior to the fight and she was only out of the UFC circuit for a while after suffering from an injury and also because her husband committed suicide late in 2013.
Rousey also recorded her fastest victory yet in her UFC career. But she has won a good number of her previous matches right on the first round, which speaks a lot of how good she really is in mixed martial arts.
Fifth title defense
The fight with Zingano was the fifth title defense for Rousey before a sellout crowd at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Despite the quick ending to the fight, fans never felt that they were shortchanged about the bout because Rousey made sure that it was action-packed. She just happened to be the better mixed martial artist during the match.
UFC president Dana White also lauded the short fight. He said that it is very rare to see the crowd being satisfied with a 14-second fight. He added that Ronda Rousey delivered so well, she actually left the crowd cheering while some still had their mouths wide open because of the shock and surprise.
Most impressive victory
Rousey’s victory over Zingano is by far the most impressive in her UFC career. She made her finishing move with jaw-dropping speed that easily allowed her to use her signature armlock, resulting to Zingano’s submission.
Zingano, on the other hand, began the fight smoking as she dropped Rousey on her head with a flying charge right at the opening bell. But the 135-pound titleholder used her judo skills to flip Zingano onto her back.
Rousey then work her way into the right position before wrenching Zingano’s arm grotesquely until the challenger tapped out.
The defending champion said that she was not surprised when Cat Zingano gaver her the opening charge. The challenger was obviously hoping to catch her unprepared. Rousey wasn’t expecting Zingano to turn her upside down but when she was down, she relied on her Olympic medal-winning judoka skills to pull through.
Rousey is the most dominant woman champion in the MMA and nobody in the sport has yet to defeat or put one over her. Her last three fights have only lasted a total of 96 seconds, including two bouts against previous unbeaten opponents.
Her 14-second finish was a record also for any UFC title bout and but she believes that the fight simply went according to her plan.