AMANDA “The Lioness” Nunes all but ended Ronda Rousey’s UFC career with a 48-second annihilation last night then boasted: “I knew I was going to beat the s*** out of her.”
Former champ Rousey had received the lion’s share of the promotion heading into the title fight at UFC 207 in Las Vegas, but it was Nunes who delivered the goods with a breathtaking destruction of her rival.
Rousey seemingly had not learned from her knockout loss to Holly Holm last November as once again she walked forward with very little head movement at the start of the fight.
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Rousey looks stunned by Nunes attack
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Nunes has no trouble getting through
It was all the invitation Nunes needed, as she unleashed a vicious series of attacks that staggered the superstar opponent and sent her rocking back against the fence.
And with Rousey looking close to being finished after only 30 seconds of action, the defending champion turned up the heat.
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Battered Rousey is led away afterwards by her mum
Another punishing series of punches forced referee Herb Dean to step in and end the contest as Nunes solidified her position as the world’s premier female bantamweight fighter.
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Nunes said she knew victory was coming
The result was no more than defending champ Nunes expected as the usually softly-spoken Brazilian gave the watching world a piece of her mind after her stunning win.
She told Joe Rogan afterwards: “I really trained very hard.
“I’m a dedicated fighter and I have my team behind me. All those guys in the gym made me.
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Lioness tells Vegas crowd to button it
“This moment is my moment. Like I said. She had her time, she did a lot for this sport. Thank you Ronda Rousey.
“But right now I’m the champion and I’m here to stay. I’m the champion here, Amanda Nunes, the Lioness.”
And Nunes said she knew she’d get the decisive stoppage win after getting ready for Rousey from the moment she arrived in the UFC.
She explained: “I knew I was gonna beat the s**t out of Ronda Rousey like that.
“I trained for this girl from my first fight in the UFC.
“I proved to everybody I am the best on the planet.”
And after sending Rousey packing physically, she followed up by doing the same verbally as she implored fans around the world to give the other female fighters in the UFC the same sort of attention they once gave Rousey.
She shouted: “Now she’s gonna retire and do movies. She’s already got a lot of money, come on.
“In this division we have a lot of talent. Now you guys have to look at these girls coming out and working hard, come on!
“Forget about Ronda Rousey.”
She added: “She’s a millionaire, what does she want to keep getting hurt for? She should retire, she can’t take it any more.”
