Amanda Nunes spoiled Ronda Rousey's much-hyped return to the Octagon with a decisive first-round TKO to retain the women's bantamweight championship at UFC 207.
Rousey took a 13-month hiatus following her first career loss against Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November 2015. She essentially went on a media blackout leading up to Friday's fight, with the exception of giving ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne access to her unique training program.
Rousey was in a no-win position, where a victory would seemingly not be enough because this was about cementing her legacy even though she's already the most important figure in women's mixed martial arts history.
However, Rousey couldn't bounce back from her loss to Holm and appeared dazed and confused during an abbreviated first round in which she could barely locate her opponent, according to ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto:
Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel broke down some of the factors that have led to Rousey's rapid downfall:
Based on Friday's stunning result, it's crystal-clear Rousey's career is shrouded in uncertainty as the sport starts to feature a slew of new stars on the women's side.
The Bantamweight Picture
There was an argument to be made that TJ Dillashaw, not Cody Garbrandt, deserved to challenge Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight title at UFC 207.
Looking at UFC's official rankings, Dillashaw is the top-ranked bantamweight behind Cruz, and Garbrandt is No. 5.
Dillashaw does have a loss against Cruz on his resume already, suffering a split-decision defeat in January. He rebounded with a unanimous-decision win over Raphael Assuncao in July, which could have put him back in the title mix.
Leading up to UFC 207, Dillashaw told Dann Stupp and Ken Hathaway of MMA Junkie that Garbrandt's title shot had nothing to do with skill:
You can talk your way into anything now, you know? We were talking about football. Do you see a football team talking their way into the Super Bowl? It doesn’t happen, man. It’s the No. 1-ranked guys, the guys that are winning the tournament.
It’s an unfortunate thing, but that’s the way it’s working out right now.
Knowing how the game is played, after his dominant victory over John Lineker, who had won six straight fights, Dillashaw cut the promo that will make it hard for UFC President Dana White to keep him out of the title picture (warning: video contains NSFW language):
Garbrandt, though, can't be ignored.
The 25-year-old put on a clinic in his unanimous-decision victory over Cruz, and he did so by sending his opponent tumbling to the canvas on several occasions thanks to his tactical brilliance, according to MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani:
And with bigger and better things on the horizon, Garbrandt made his intentions clear once he put a bow on the win, per Helwani:
In other words, 2017 is going to be a wild ride. Buckle up.
Hendricks' Decline Continues
It seems like so long ago that Johny Hendricks was one of the UFC's best welterweights, but he was a champion as recently as December 2014 before Robbie Lawler defeated him.
Unfortunately, Hendricks' loss at UFC 181 appears to be the last anyone will ever see of the outstanding wrestler who took Georges St-Pierre five rounds and lost a split decision.
Hendricks has had problems cutting weight, being taken to the hospital in October 2015 after missing the 171-pound welterweight limit in each of his last two fights. He weighed in at 173.5 pounds leading into Friday's fight against Neil Magny.
Friday was Hendricks' third consecutive loss when Magny earned the decision with a strong final round. Ben Fowlkes of MMA Junkie noted a comment UFC announcer Joe Rogan made on the show and offered a GIF response:
Hendricks is only 33 years old, but his career has fallen off a cliff multiple times in the last two years. It will be a miracle if he doesn't get cut by the promotion.
This fight was nearly over in the first round when Magny had Hendricks in a triangle choke and delivered a slew of vicious elbows, via the UFC:
At least Hendricks was able to survive that onslaught and take the fight to the judges, but even during his recent struggles staying upright for all 15 minutes of a three-round battle haven't been the problem.
Whatever has happened to Hendricks in the last two years, his losing takes on added embarrassment because of his inability to make weight and force his opponents to decide if they still want to fight him anyway.
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