Ronda Rousey made trash-talking opponent pay with terrifying 34-second faceplant knockout in final UFC win
10/14/2024 09:56 AM
Ronda Rousey's final UFC win came courtesy of a ruthless KO.
The UFC bantamweight champion had amassed an 11-0 professional MMA record and become the sport’s biggest star by submitting her opponents.
However, she showed she’s got some hands in her fight against Sara McMann before Rousey scored an epic 16-second KO that left her dazed and confused opponent trying to fight the referee.
'Rowdy' continued to impress with her boxing when she fought Brazilian contender Bethe Correia in the main event of UFC 190 in August 2015.
Ronda Rousey topped off her UFC run with a devastating KO
Unlike most of Ronda Rousey's opponents, Correia opted to try to rile her up by using trash talk ahead of their clash for the UFC 135lb title.
'Pitbull' caused outrage when she used things from her opponent's personal life, including her addiction issues and the death of her father, who committed suicide, to sell the fight.
Rousey got revenge when they came face-to-face on fight night.
The UFC Hall of Famer ran forward from the first bell and began throwing big punches before finding herself in the perfect position to score a takedown.
Correia fell to the floor, and it seemed to be just a matter of time before Rousey locked up her signature armbar submission – but the 37-year-old shocked everyone by allowing her rival back to her feet.
The former WWE star trapped Correia against the fence before hurling a flurry of punches in her direction and connecting with a massive straight hand.
Correia was caught flush and knocked out cold after just 34 seconds. Rousey's punch sent her crashing face-first to the floor in a scary scene that is not frequently seen in women's MMA.
'Rowdy' addressed Bethe Correia's trash talk post-fight
Rousey used her post-fight interview with Joe Rogan to send a message to the rest of the division about her striking skills, which served as a warning for anyone planning to badmouth her family.
‘I’m really happy with my performance," she said post-fight at UFC 190.
“It wasn’t perfect, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I think I proved a lot to myself and everybody else about the diversity of my style and what I can do in there. I don’t mind that everything ends quickly.
“It was kind of how I expected it. I planned to instead of trying to force a clinch, overwhelm her by striking first so that she would want to clinch first, and that’s exactly what happened.”
“I guess she can’t really say anything about my hands anymore.
"I hope nobody really brings up my family anymore when it comes to fights, and I hope this is the last time."
Will Ronda Rousey ever fight again?
Rousey suffered back-to-back defeats after beating Correia.
Holly Holm brutally KO'd Rousey at UFC 193 in November 2015. Despite being a heavy underdog 'The Preacher's Daughter' was able to dominate from the first bell and catch her opponent with a head kick in the second round.
Amanda Nunes retired Rousey 13 months later. 'The Lioness' unloaded a series of strikes that ended their eagerly anticipated fight in under a minute and prompted Rousey to walk away from MMA at just 29 years old.
Since then, she's enjoyed success as a professional wrestler, actress, and writer – but UFC fans have been begging her to put on the gloves once more time.
Unfortunately, she recently ruled out an MMA comeback by revealing her premature retirement was triggered by a serious medical issue.
"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," Rousey said in August.
"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."
