Ronda Rousey’s boxing skills, or lack thereof, are still being criticized today.
Once considered the best female fighter in the world, Ronda Rousey was dominant in her first 11 fights, utilizing her excellent judo skills.
Rousey, an Olympic Gold Medalist in judo, held the UFC women’s bantamweight title from 2012 to 2015 and made some rivals along the way.
The hall-of-famer had a rough exit from the UFC, with her striking ability exposed in consecutive knockout losses to former boxing champion Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. Nunes would later become widely regarded as the greatest female fighter ever.
It took Amanda Nunes less than a minute to defeat Rousey by TKO, effectively ending her MMA career. Rousey’s coach, Edmond Tarverdyan, became known for repeatedly yelling ‘head movement’ as she received numerous punches from Nunes.
Ronda Rousey Gets Mocked by Cris Cyborg
Nearly six years later, Cris Cyborg, a major champion and Rousey`s rival, is still taking jabs. They never fought in the Octagon due to weight class differences and being in different promotions at times.
Recently, a boxing page questioned how Rousey would fare as a boxer: “Champion? Contender?”
Cyborg responded harshly.
“I once saw her shadow boxing and her shadow won,” Cyborg commented on Rousey’s boxing ability.
Rousey secured most of her wins with her signature armbar submission, but her striking was once praised after she knocked out two opponents in a combined 50 seconds. Joe Rogan once suggested Rousey could defeat half of the men’s UFC bantamweight bantamweight division during her prime.
Cris Cyborg was known as WMMA’s most dangerous striker for years until Amanda Nunes defeated her in under a minute at UFC 232 in 2018.
Cris Cyborg Approaching Retirement
Cyborg, 39, left the UFC in 2019 with a winning record and joined Bellator.
She won the featherweight title in her first Bellator fight and defended it several times before moving into boxing and then the PFL SmartCage.
Cyborg defeated Larissa Pacheco to win the PFL featherweight title in October, adding another championship to her achievements.
Cyborg states she has two fights remaining on her PFL contract and will retire after completing them.
“This is my legacy tour,” Cyborg told a fan on X.
For now, Cyborg will box again on May 17.
Rupert Hartwell