A record-setting 14 seconds was all it took for the UFC bantamweight champion to finish Cat Zingano and by doing so, has defended her title for the 5th consecutive time.
The long hyped Zingano was Rousey's closest competitor at 135lbs, long hyped but short lived as a leaping knee by the challenger was quickly turned into a trademark arm bar by the champion, seconds followed and it was all over.
For the 11th time, Ronda Rousey was promised a challenge that simply didn't live up the occasion or the level of intensity that the 28-year-old ex judo Olympic bronze medallist had set her sights on.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship or 'UFC' was founded in 1993 and since then has lived up to the self-certified tag of 'biggest mixed martial arts promoter in the world', pitting the best versus the best consistently. Rousey joined the UFC at the age of 22 having already accrued multiple judo world titles, medals of all colours and her professional record currently stands at 11 wins and 0 losses, and now she has nobody left to fight.
"I want to be the most dangerous unarmed women in the world" she said in a pre-fight interview and surely now there aren't many that can say that she isn't. She must now look outside the UFC towards other fighting promoters. The most highly anticipated would be Christine Justino also known as 'Cris Cyborg', who is currently the reigning champion of the Invicta fighting championship at 145lbs.
Pressure now mounts on the shoulders of UFC CEO Dana White to secure a challenger for his superstar who has already starred in blockbuster movies and brushed shoulders with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He should now consider the fans that want to see a truly rewarding event that isn't over within a minute (8 of her 11 fights have ended in less that 60 seconds).
Where will he look? Cris Cyborg? Maybe lower down in the UFC rankings to Beth Correia who Rousey mentioned in her post-fight interview, who boasts a professional record of 9-0 and has been very vocal: "Every day I challenge Ronda, I ask for the fight."
One thing is for sure, nobody has come close to challenging the champion yet, whomever steps up now will need to bring something special.
