Nunes Emerges As Title Contender

Overlooked in the aftermath of Rouseymania was a middling UFC card from Nashville, Tennessee. A full week after Bethe Correira’s face kissed the mat at the forceful insistence of Ronda Rousey’s fists, the topic of interest remained very much focused on Rousey. We mused on whether she would ever meet Cris Cyborg. We wondered how long Miesha Tate would last in their upcoming third meeting. We pondered as to whether anybody currently residing at bantamweight could pose something resembling an interesting matchup. Some thought Holly Holm, a former boxing world champion, could provide the latter, but no names were commonly brought up beyond that. Then, on an overlooked show in Nashville, Tennessee, a fighter proved we had wrongly omitted her in the latter discussion.

We see you now, Amanda Nunes.

On Saturday, Nunes faced Sara McMann, the Olympic silver medal wrestler who fell quickly to Rousey in February of last year, but has otherwise been a dependable hand. The betting odds favored McMann, and with fair reason: she had only ever lost to who are generally considered the division’s two best fighters. That made what Nunes did all the more impressive.

Nunes controlled the striking with precise punches early, which wasn’t a surprise. She stopped the Olympian’s takedowns – that was a surprise – and dropped her with a powerful, well-timed right hand. Shortly thereafter, Nunes was on McMann’s back with her arm under her chin.

Nunes displayed little that she hadn’t previously. We knew about her striking and the power she possessed. We knew about her grappling. We knew she was a finisher, but it took a fast and dominant finish over a top-ranked fighter to make people realize that she poses certain threats to the seemingly untouchable Rousey.

Ronda Rousey has faced few challengers that could be categorized as finishers, an exception being Cat Zingano. However, Nunes is a different level of finisher. Zingano doesn’t let fights get to the final bell; Nunes doesn’t like to work more than a few minutes. She finishes hard and fast – something few fighters in the lower weight classes are able to do. Since hitting the international stage in 2011, all of Nunes’ six wins have come within the opening frame.

The lack of that hard and fast finishing ability is part of what has made Rousey such an enormous betting favorite in her fights. Her opponents have to be better than her for an extended period – at least three rounds –while avoiding Rousey’s punches, throws, and armbars for five full rounds. In almost every case, that isn’t a realistic task. With a proven fast finishing ability, the task becomes much more realistic: hit Rousey once to get in a position where you can hit her a lot more times. That sequence isn’t necessarily likely, but it is far easier to envision than Rousey being thoroughly beaten for three rounds. That is why Nunes is the most interesting of all but a couple of Rousey’s potential opponents.

Where Nunes lacks is staying power. She tires quickly, which is part of what prevents her from overtaking Cris Cyborg as Rousey’s most interesting match. Discarding a quick loss in her first professional fight, all of Nunes’ losses have seen her fade in deep water. Most recently, she clobbered Cat Zingano for almost the entirety of the first round of their September 2014 bout, but the tables turned when Zingano survived the onslaught. Nunes doesn’t appear to be the type of fighter that will challenge Rousey round after round; it’s first round or bust.

After Saturday, Nunes may be only one match away from Rousey. When her title shot occurs hinges on both inside and outside forces. On the inside, Nunes will need to beat whomever she fights next. Outside, a match with Cris Cyborg will take precedent for Rousey should the match come together before or after the third Tate fight. If the Cyborg match does come together at some point, one has to think that a rematch would soon follow, barring a one-sided Rousey victory in the first match. Rousey has also expressed interest in fighting Holly Holm, whose chances only hold standing upright, should she keep her unbeaten record intact.

Ronda Rousey vs. Amanda Nunes may be months away, more than a year in the future, or perhaps it won’t take place at all. While the latter would be a shame, it doesn’t change the fact of what Nunes did on Saturday night. When most went looking elsewhere for someone to present a challenge to Rousey, Nunes diverted their attention back to the place they should have first considered. She’d be far from a favorite, but she’d have a real chance.

Dan Plunkett has covered MMA for 411Mania since 2008. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @Dan_Plunkett.