Why Rousey lost: Technical reasons 1-4

In his latest article for the surging Champions.co, Elias Cepeda technically breaks down four reasons Ronda Rousey lost to Amanda Nunes.

1. Lack of head movement

When it comes to striking defense … Rousey has yet to develop any real useful reflex or smoothness. Nowhere is the more evident than in the area of head movement. She didn’t misdirect with any feints, didn’t slip any punches, or roll out after absorbing one or two.

2. Arms straight out

Training footage we’ve seen from them over the years shows Rousey’s coach Tarverdyan consistently having her end punching combinations with a stiff-arm to her opponent. I don’t know their reasons for training punching combos that way but it certainly did not help them against Nunes.

3. No new takedown set-ups

The Judo master is able to chain together takedown attempts in many combinations once she gets inside where she wants to be, but her initial entry to get into takedown position has gotten predictable. Nunes shrugged off Rousey’s high clinch attempts and got back to punching her every time Rousey attempted to close the distance.

4. Front kicks gone wrong

Not only were Rousey’s front kicks timed and countered by Nunes’ punches, she had to absorb most of those counter punches while on just one leg, instead of two, which limits a fighter’s ability to effectively absorb a blow.

Cepeda also pondered what’s next for Rousey. He noted correctly that she leaves a tremendous legacy, regardless of whether she retires or fights on. And he noted correctly that she is not improving her weaknesses.