UFC 175: Ronda Rousey needs just 16 seconds to put away Alexis Davis
Jul 6, 2014, 6:33 PM | Updated: 6:33 pm
On Saturday night, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (10-0) entered the octagon opposite Alexis Davis (16-6) in the co-main event of UFC 175.
Sixteen seconds later, the referee pulled Rousey off Davis.
Rousey, who entered the bout as the top-ranked female fighter in the world according to the Power MMA Show rankings, started off with powerful right hand followed by a vicious knee to Davis’ midsection. With her opponent reeling from the body shot, Rousey clinched up and tossed Davis to the canvas with ease.
She followed up with a series of shot punches to the unprotected skull of Davis, forcing referee Yves Lavigne to call an end to the fight.
“We had been specifically working on the long overhand right and long left hook in this training camp. Before my fight with Sara McMann [in UFC 170], we had been training the inside knee to the body,” said Rousey. “It just seems that whatever I’m working on in training camp I have implemented effectively in the fight. As soon as I opened her up with the jab, she was definitely rocked and probably out, so I thought to myself, ‘It’s time to throw her and finish.’ I followed up with the short shots on the ground, but it was over well before that.”
Saturday’s victory gave Rousey the second-fastest knockout in a UFC title fight — behind Andrei Arlovski’s 15-second destruction of Paul Buentello back in 2005. But in classic Rousey fashion, the bantamweight champion revealed she was not entirely satisfied with her victory.
“I got clipped once, and I don’t want to let that happen again,” said Rousey amid a chorus of cheers.
Following the victory, UFC commentator Joe Rogan put Rousey on the spot when he asked if she would step up on one month’s notice to headline UFC 176, which recently lost its main event after UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo was forced to pull out of his bout with Chad Mendes. Clearly stunned by the question, Rousey revealed she was already scheduled for knee surgery following her fight with Davis, but she said she would step in if her coaches allow it.
“If they say it’s cool with them, it’s cool with me,” said Rousey. “I’ll do it.”