A brief highlights package has been commonplace in Ronda Rousey's UFC career, and that trend continued in Saturday's first-round knockout against Bethe Correia at UFC 190, held in Rio de Janeiro's HSBC Arena.
Rousey required just 34 seconds this time around to successfully defend her UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship for a sixth consecutive bout.
Check out some of the highlights from the fight in the video below, courtesy of the UFC on Fox:
It didn't take much for Rousey to assert her will once again. Rather than going for the submission by way of her devastating armbar that has decided many of her previous wins, Rousey became tangled up with Correia frequently in the early going, trading punches and gaining leverage by pinning Correia against the cage.
With little real estate to work with inside the Octagon, Correia didn't have the firepower to hang with someone as tenacious as Rousey.
Despite a home Brazilian crowd behind the underdog, "Rowdy" proved yet again she's the best at what she does. A decisive knockout blow delivered to Correia's temple by a vicious Rousey right-handed punch stopped the championship clash. Rousey even got a left jab to her foe's face as Correia collapsed to the canvas.
ABS-CBN Sports passed along what Rousey had to say to Correia following her latest UFC exploits:
Rousey: "I turned to her after I knocked her out and said 'don't cry.' It was what she was saying to me at the weigh-ins."
— ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports) August 2, 2015
Correia had been understandably fired up to face Rousey, with a chance to shock the world and emerge with a massive upset in her native country. It simply wasn't in the cards, as Correia was outmatched as many who have challenged Rousey before her have been.
FiveThirtyEight has a neat graphic to illustrate how Rousey wins with ease at an astonishing rate:
.@RondaRousey fights like an outlier: http://t.co/irRCODXtoG pic.twitter.com/thYjVkw12H
— FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) August 2, 2015
SportsCenter further supports that notion, showing how Rousey's greatness transcends the gender barrier:
Ronda Rousey's 34-second win over Bethe Correia broke tie w/ Matt Hughes & Frank Shamrock for most 1st round wins (5) in a UFC title fight.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 2, 2015
The data above goes to prove furthermore that Rousey is in a class of her own. She could retire now and be regarded as the greatest female fighter in the history of combat sports. At just 28 years old and with plenty of punch to still pack, though, Rousey doesn't figure to be going anywhere for the foreseeable future.
Even if the results continue to be the same and no worthy rival comes along to give Rousey a truer test, it's unlikely fans will tire of seeing her reign atop the sport.
With a perfect 12-0 record in her professional MMA career, Rousey doesn't know what losing feels like—and may well never experience the feeling. In such an individual sport, there needs to be a clear-cut superstar to pave the way for progress. Rousey has the charisma, class and capacity to crush the spirit of any opponent she comes across.
That combination has proven to be indefatigable to date. It will continue to be until a savvy, lightning-quick striker comes along who can avoid Rousey's bull rush, avert engaging in heavy contact so early and ultimately pull off what's currently believed to be impossible.
