This weekend UFC champ Ronda Rousey beat undefeated fighter Cat Zingano in just 14 seconds (video), setting the record for fastest UFC title fight, fastest submission in a UFC title fight, and the only UFC fight with zero recorded strikes. Three days before the fight took place she told TMZ Sports that she was aiming to "get it on Instagram" which has a 15 second limit for videos. Her previous fight only lasted 16 seconds meaning her last two title defenses were only a combined 30 seconds. If you add up the length of her last three fights, it's a combined 96 seconds - less time than it takes to microwave a Hot Pocket. After eleven professional fights, she's only spent 25 minutes total in the octagon - the length of a single championship match.
Ronda has a 100% finish rate with only a single opponent managing to survive past the first round. She has 8 finishes in under a minute compared to Mike Tyson's career of 9 finishes in under a minute. Currently she's ranked #7 in the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings. She's obliterated the entire division and with no legitimate contenders left, it's led to hypothetical talks of Ronda fighting men. Obviously this will never happen - it's purely a 'what if' scenario.
Several days ago Joe Rogan was on The Dan LeBatard Show and said he believes Ronda can beat 50% of the mens bantamweight roster.
UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer said she probably couldn't hang against the top 10, but would likely be ranked in the top 20 of mens bantamweights (video):
Rener Gracie believes Ronda could tap anyone:
UFC flyweight (125 lbs) fighter Ian McCall says he'd have his way with her:
Last year ESPN asked whether Ronda could beat undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather in an MMA match. Guest Joe Rogan said yes, some of the hosts disagreed. Then a few days later pound-for-pound #1 UFC champ Jon Jones was asked and he picked Ronda too. ESPN polled their audience and after 70,000 votes, Ronda emerged as the favorite:
Los Angeles Times also ran the same poll with similar end results (55% Ronda, 44% Floyd). So clearly the general public thinks Rousey could hold her own against a stronger, more powerful dude.
What does GAF think? Could Ronda (or any other female) be competitive against men in her same weight class or is the genetic difference too much to overcome?
Ronda has a 100% finish rate with only a single opponent managing to survive past the first round. She has 8 finishes in under a minute compared to Mike Tyson's career of 9 finishes in under a minute. Currently she's ranked #7 in the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings. She's obliterated the entire division and with no legitimate contenders left, it's led to hypothetical talks of Ronda fighting men. Obviously this will never happen - it's purely a 'what if' scenario.
UFC President Dana White on Saturday said:What do I do with this girl? What do I do with this girl? I keep joking saying she is going to have to fight men, but I'm serious. (video)
Several days ago Joe Rogan was on The Dan LeBatard Show and said he believes Ronda can beat 50% of the mens bantamweight roster.
Joe Rogan said:Theres a lot of guys her size she could beat. I mean, a lot. If you took the roster of the UFCs bantamweights, 135lbs, and you paired them up against Ronda Rousey, she might be able to beat 50 percent of them, and thats not a joke Theres a difference in the male structure, theres a difference in the male frame, testosterone plays a big difference, the ability to take punches is a significant difference. The structure of the face, the muscles of the neck. Women just cannot take the same kind of punches that men can. Thats the only reason why I only give Ronda a chance at beating 50 percent of the men. If she could take the kind of punches that some of these guys might possibly land it might get up to like 60 percent. She's a truly special talent.
UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer said she probably couldn't hang against the top 10, but would likely be ranked in the top 20 of mens bantamweights (video):
Bruce Buffer said:She is the most dominant fighting athlete in the world. There's nobody more dominant in a female fighting athlete than Ronda Rousey. I'm not going to compare her to men, although quite frankly, I'm sure she'd do very well against at least half the division that she's in, which is the bantamweight. Can't tell you [where she ranks] until she fights the first guy... Well, I mean there's no reason that you can put her in the top ten amongst men, because it's not fair. No woman has ever professionally, to my knowledge, fought a man in a professionally commissioned, sanctioned fight. And it's not going to happen. I mean, I'd be amazed if that ever happened. It's not gonna happen. Top twenty... Yeah, in the bantamweight division, I think she probably could... Not top ten, top twenty.
Rener Gracie believes Ronda could tap anyone:
Rener Gracie said:There's no doubt that she can put it on some men, for sure. I've seen it happen, and really do some damage. Here's the thing, naturally, what everyone is going to say is no' -- that men have the physical strength, the power advantage over someone like Ronda, or any female, you would say. And that's generally a fair statement, I think. But the thing is this: Ronda has some things that I've never felt in even men, if that makes sense. Ronda has a certain flexibility, a dynamic flexibility mixed with strength, and blended with those two, impeccable technique. [...] Now, you know, what happens when you're going against a man, they put a little more power behind their punches, the knockout power is stronger, and who knows, they can muscle out of submissions a little crazier. But I'll tell you what, once she's latched onto a limb, I don't care who's limb it is, they're going to tap. That's for sure.
UFC flyweight (125 lbs) fighter Ian McCall says he'd have his way with her:
Ian McCall said:They say all these comparisons to her fighting men, even like Joe [Rogan]. I need to have a conversation with Joe about it because she's not beating up a man. I'm sorry, it's not going to happen. A good man will not lose to Ronda Rousey. I could put a judo gi on, [she's] an Olympian. You're not throwing me. It's not going to happen. I will throw you on your head. Pretty simple. And you weigh more than me.
I can't compartmentalize it, it doesn't make sense to me. I know it's all talk. They compare her to [former heavyweight boxer Mike] Tyson. She's dangerous, she's good. I get it, but it's just silly. Ronda's definitely not the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. She's the best woman on the planet. That's cute. Cool. Well, we're doing men things. Different. I get it, you're really good and all but to compare her to Jon Jones, Jose Aldo, Demetrious Johnson or Cain Velasquez ... come on. Any of the champions. It's a different world. It just frustrates me.
Last year ESPN asked whether Ronda could beat undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather in an MMA match. Guest Joe Rogan said yes, some of the hosts disagreed. Then a few days later pound-for-pound #1 UFC champ Jon Jones was asked and he picked Ronda too. ESPN polled their audience and after 70,000 votes, Ronda emerged as the favorite:
Los Angeles Times also ran the same poll with similar end results (55% Ronda, 44% Floyd). So clearly the general public thinks Rousey could hold her own against a stronger, more powerful dude.
What does GAF think? Could Ronda (or any other female) be competitive against men in her same weight class or is the genetic difference too much to overcome?