Rousey makes quick work of Zingano at UFC 184
LOS ANGELES — There may not be a great strategy for dealing with UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey in the cage.
Cat Zingano’s plan of attack in the main event of UFC 184 at Staples Center on Saturday night certainly wasn’t the answer.
Zingano charged across the cage and appeared to attempt a flying knee, only to have Rousey sidestep the attack.
The aggression backfired.
Zingano’s momentum helped take both fighters to the ground, but Rousey immediately reversed the position and got on Zingano’s back.
She quickly isolated Zingano’s right arm and secured a modified armbar that forced Zingano to tap out after just 14 seconds.
It was the fastest submission in the modern era of the UFC and the fastest stoppage of any kind in a UFC title fight. It was also the first championship fight in UFC history to not feature a single landed strike.
While Zingano’s strategy seemed a bit reckless and unorthodox, Rousey said she was prepared.
“We were expecting that she might come out and do something flying at me right away,” Rousey said. “She’d been hearing so much about being a slow starter, so I thought it was possible she would try to do something like that. I also study my own fights and I noticed nobody’s ever tried to do that so I thought it might be possible she would see that, too.”
Rousey improved to 11-0 as a professional, including 10 first-round stoppages. Saturday’s victory also marked the seventh time she has won within the first minute.
“I got caught. I was ready to do a million different things,” Zingano said. “I was ready to get in a fistfight tonight.”
Zingano isn’t likely to get another chance in the immediate future, but Rousey has essentially cleaned out most of the division.
There was hope a new challenger may emerge for Rousey on Saturday night as former professional boxing champion Holly Holm made her UFC debut.
Holm improved to 8-0 in her mixed martial arts career, but looked far from ready for a shot at Rousey in a split decision victory over Raquel Pennington.
Holm got the better of most of the exchanges, as expected. She was never able to truly get her offense going and the heavy favorite was forced to wait with bated breath as the scorecards were read.
Jake Ellenberger submitted Josh Koscheck in a matchup of two welterweights who entered the night with three-fight winning streaks.
Ellenberger ended his skid by locking up a fight-ending guillotine choke as Koscheck shot for a takedown in the second round. Koscheck dropped to the ground and attempted to roll out of the choke, but Ellenberger had it locked in, eventually forcing Koscheck to tap out.
“The way I fight has changed. I don’t go out there to win rounds or outpoint a guy, I come to finish fights,” Ellenberger said. “Jake Ellenberger doesn’t come out to fight anymore; it’s ‘The Juggernaut’ from here on out. I don’t know what’s next, but that fight was a step in the right direction.”
Southern California residents Alan Jouban and Tony Ferguson kicked off the main card with quick victories.
Jouban landed a devastating short elbow in the clinch that stunned Richard Walsh. He followed up with a pair of punches that had Walsh out on his feet against the cage, prompting the referee to stop the welterweight fight at 2:19 of the first round.
Ferguson dominated Gleison Tibau from the opening bell of a lightweight bout, finally forcing him to tap out to a rear naked choke at 2:27 of the first round.
Middleweight Roan Carneiro highlighted the preliminary card with a technical submission of Mark Munoz.
Carneiro, who was making his return to the UFC, locked in a choke and Munoz went unconscious.
The 36-year-old Brazilian was released from the organization after losing back-to-back fights in 2008. He earned a return by winning his last five fights on the regional circuit.
It was the third straight loss suffered by Munoz.
Welterweight Tim Means won his third straight fight with a first-round knockout of Dhiego Lima. Means was in control from the opening bell, landing knees, punches and elbows before finally ending the fight after just 2:17 with a straight left hand that dropped Lima.
Heavyweight Derrick Lewis got back on track after suffering his first UFC loss in September to Matt Mitrione with a second-round knockout of Ruan Potts.
Lewis had Potts on his back and in trouble several times before finally finishing him off at 3:18 of the second round. The only real offense from Potts came on a kneebar attempt midway through the first round.
A bantamweight bout between Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto and Roman Salazar was declared a no contest when the ringside doctor decided Salazar could not continue after being poked in the eye for a second time during the fight.
Valmir Lazaro and Masio Fullen picked up split decision victories on the untelevised portion of the card.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.
