UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey retained her title and picked up her first TKO victory tonight at UFC 170: “Rousey vs McMann” in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rousey stopped fellow Olympic medallist Sara McMann early in the first round of tonight’s featured main event.
Also on the UFC 170 card, jiu-jitsu ace Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis earned her third Octagon victory by outpointing former flyweight standout Jessica “Evil” Eye in a preliminary card bout. Davis dominated round two and she used takedowns to score a hard-fought Split Decision win after 15 minutes.
Rousey (9-0-0) tried to initiate a clinch right away, but McMann (7-1-0) cracked her with a series of right hooks that briefly sent the champion off-balance. Rousey regained her footing and closed the distance against the cage wall. She landed two short knees to the body and standing elbow strikes over the top while pinning McMann against the fence. A third knee from Rousey struck McMann in the liver and she dropped forward to her knees. Referee Herb Dean intervened to stop the fight at the 66-second mark of round one as McMann struggled to get back to her feet.
Following the fight, the crowd showered the cage with boos due to what was perceived to be an early stoppage from Dean, but McMann was all class in her post-fight interview. With the quick win, Rousey remains unbeaten in her mixed martial arts career. The reigning champion is one of the biggest stars in UFC history and now awaits the next challenger for her 135-pound title.
Winner: Ronda Rousey by TKO (Knee To The Body) at 1:06 of round one. She improves to 9-0-0 and remains the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion.
Davis (16-5-0) opened her fight with Eye (10-2-0, 1 ND) by landing a leg kick that set off an exchange of punches. Eye scored with a combination and Davis continued to target her leg with kicks. Both women were effective with short hooks and uppercuts in the clinch, but Davis worked for takedowns and she eventually countered a leg kick by taking Eye down into side control. Eye defended well on the mat and got back to half-guard before the bell.
Davis took Eye back down in round two and she dominated the action with elbows from half-guard. As the round progressed, Davis looked to set up a rear-naked choke and a keylock, but Eye scrambled free. Davis tried to force Eye to give up her back and she nearly secured a rear-naked choke after landing hammerfists in the final minute.
In round three, both women scored with punch-kick combinations early on. Eye caught a series of kicks from Davis, but she was unable to take Davis down. Eye mixed up her strikes with lead left hooks, one-two combinations and leg kicks throughout the round. She followed with uppercuts and a series of right hands over the top. Eye kept Davis at bay with jabs and leg kicks until the end of the fight.
One judge scored the close bout for Eye, but the remaining two both sided with Davis, who emerged victorious via a hard-fought Split Decision. She is now 3-0 inside the UFC Octagon and could be in line for a title shot later this year.
Winner: Alexis Davis by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. She improves to 16-5-0.
(Photo Credit: UFC)
In the space of 4 months, Jessica Eye has come into the UFC, moving up from 125lbs, and fought on fully even terms with 2 of the top 4 women in the world. Despite losing last night, Jessica Eye will be fighting for the title soon enough. She deserves a chance as much as anyone at this point.
Did anyone else catch Dana White’s post presser comments? The live gate last night exceeded $1.5M, which is $250k more than Rousey-Carmouche did. And the estimated PPV buys were 750K, making Rousey-McMann the biggest female MMA fight ever. Any guesses how well Rousey-Cyborg at Cowboy Stadium would do? Hopefully we’ll find out before the end of the year.
I agree, Andy, on Jessica Eye. The girl is a star.
But I don’t think she has what it takes to beat Ronda now… nor Alexis. Alexis is very dangerous from her back, but she has to prevent Ronda from taking her down, where she starts to control the grappling… and I am not sure if she can. Ronda seems a good deal stronger than anyone else she fought to date, barring Sara McMann.
As to Rousey vs McMann, McMann proved to me she is the superior fighter. A shot to the liver can happen to anyone, and it will make anyone turtle and whince in pain.
But she was winning the fight, landed some heavy bombs on Rousey’s face, and actually McMann’s heavy hip made it seem impossible for Rousey to take her down.
I didn’t think so at first, but, after rewatching it, the stoppage seemed a bit premature. She was getting up at the same time Herb Dean was halting the fight… and she always had one hand on the floor.
I am all for a rematch.
Yes Rafael – it could be a blessing in disguise that Jessica lost to Davis (by a hair). Now she will get at least 2 more fights in the UFC before getting a shot at the title. Most importantly, Eye is getting better and stronger every fight.
It is too early for Eye against Rousey right now — McMann had the wrestling to match Rousey, but lost (too early) due to strikes. Davis has the ground game to match Rousey, but I agree probably not a strong enough overall package to beat Ronda.
But Jessica Eye will soon be able to match Rousey in the clinch game and also — most importantly — Eye has excellent movement and speed. These factors will give Rousey trouble. Plus Eye can really sell a fight. Give her 12-18 months and she’ll be a great match for Ronda.
Would really love to see Eye figure Rousey out. I missed the Davis fight Ill have to catch that one. Thanks for the read!!