By Philip O’Connor
May 17 (Reuters) – It was almost ten years in the making, but Ronda Rousey finally got to end her storied mixed martial arts career the way she deserved with a 17-second win over Gina Carano, nailing her signature armbar submission before quitting the sport for good.
On Saturday, the 39-year-old Olympic judo bronze medallist gave fans in attendance and those watching on streaming service Netflix one final glimpse of the skills that made her a household name, taking down Carano and quickly submitting her before confirming that her fighting days are done.
“There’s no way I could have ended it better than this. I want to have some more babies, and I got to get cooking,” mother-of-two Rousey beamed in her post-fight interview in the cage.
When the UFC announced a women’s bantamweight division in late 2012, Rousey was anointed their first champion and she went on a dominant run, throwing many of her opponents to the mat before arm-locking them in the first round, exactly as she did with Carano.
However, much of the allure of MMA is that there are so many ways to lose, and when Rousey suffered a stunning head-kick knockout loss to Holly Holm in November 2015, it was the beginning of the end for the sport’s first and biggest female star.
Just over a year later she made an attempt at a comeback, eschewing media obligations before taking on champion Amanda Nunes, but the fiery Brazilian obliterated Rousey in 48 seconds with a flurry of devastating punches, knocking her out and effectively ending her MMA career.
Saturday’s unexpected return under the banner of Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions was partially an attempt by Paul to muscle in on the UFC’s decades-long dominance of the sport, but it was also an opportunity for Rousey to set the record straight before finally walking off into the sunset.
In taking on the 44-year-old Carano, who hadn’t fought in 17 years and is now better known as an actor, she chose an opponent who perhaps could rival her as a female pioneer in the sport, but who was no match for her in the cage, and Rousey got to cement her legacy with one last signature victory.
“I feel like a ghost was banished, and it’s just lifted a weight off of me that I didn’t realise I was still carrying in that way,” Rousey smiled as she spoke at a media conference.
“This is exactly what I needed, and that was closure.”
(Reporting by Philip O’ConnorEditing by Christian Radnedge)
