Ronda Rousey had Dana White's backing after controversial stoppage in 66-second UFC win
01/06/2025 12:15 PM
Ronda Rousey’s first knockout win was somewhat spoiled by a post-fight debate about the stoppage.
The UFC Hall of Famer kicked off her professional MMA career with eight consecutive armbar submission wins to claim world championships in Strikeforce and the UFC.
‘Rowdy’ began working on her striking and it paid off when she defended her bantamweight belt against Olympic silver medalist wrestler Sara McCann at UFC 170 in February 2014.
Ronda Rousey blasted her opponent with a brutal knee to the stomach and their fight was waved off after just 66 seconds.
Ronda Rousey vs Sara McMann stoppage divides viewers
As soon as McCann dropped to the floor clutching her midriff, referee Herb Dean called it a TKO.
However, the beaten contender immediately shot the referee a look that suggested she could continue.
McCann kept it classy as she politely disagreed with Dean’s decision to jump in so quickly during the UFC 170 main event.
"Looking back, it did seem kind of quick on the screen," she told MMAjunkie post-fight.
"Things are kind of slowed down in my head in the cage. I felt it connect, and my body just flew to protect itself. I heard [Dean's] voice, and I immediately tried to get back up.
“I'm not going to blame a referee for something I feel like I should be able to control. I should get up quicker. If you want to win fights, you just have to do it, regardless of what's going on."
Dana White immediately shut down talk of a controversial stoppage when he addressed the media.
"Listen, guys, I've been in this business a long time. I've seen that happen to Oscar de la Hoya and many other great fighters,” the UFC boss said.
“You get hit to the body like that, and regular people who have never been hit to the body have no f***ing clue what that feels like. Believe me when I tell you that.
“She went down to her knees, and she turned her head the other way. Could Herb have let her take some shots to the face? Definitely. But when the fight happened and I saw it, I said, 'Oh man.'
“And then I watched the replay. When I watched the replay, I thought it was a good stoppage."
Naturally, Rousey agreed with White’s assessment of the first knockout win of her career.
"I didn't think it was too soon," she said. "I'd have kept going if someone didn't stop me. But it's not my decision. That's why they have a referee in there to make sure no one gets hurt more than they need to.
"I promised my coach this time that I was going to drop her with a body shot. We called it. We trained it a lot. That was a goal I had in this fight. I don't like calling it and saying it to the media. But to my coach, I promised him I was really going to try. I'm happy I did that."
Will Ronda Rousey ever fight again?
Rousey retired after suffering a brutal knockout loss against Amanda Nunes in December 2016.
Ever since then, she’s been linked to a comeback fight after walking away from MMA at 29 years old.
In 2024, Rousey issued a health update that had a definitive impact on her combat sports future.
“Every couple years … the same rumor comes out,” she said.
"It's nice to feel missed, I guess. But it's not happening. I'm not neurologically fit to compete anymore at the highest level. I just can't.
"You just get to a level where the neurological injuries you take accumulate over time. They don't get better."
"When I got into MMA, I had already had dozens of concussions that I trained through. Like, not even stopped for. So, that was about a decade of having concussion symptoms more often than not.
"So when I got into MMA, I was playing a game of zero errors. Then it got to the point where I was fighting more often than anybody. I had more outside-of-fighting responsibilities than anybody, and it just got to be lighter, and lighter hits were hurting me more and more and more.
"I got to a point where I couldn't take a jab without getting dazed, without getting concussion symptoms. It just got to a point where it wasn't safe for me to fight anymore. I just couldn't continue to fight at that higher level."
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