FS1 panel reacts to the Nunes victory over Rousey – Florian, Tate, Bisping analyze what went wrong for Rousey

By Wade Keller, MMATorch editor

Ronda Rousey vs. Amanda Nunes (photo credit MarkJRebilas © USA Today Sports)

The following are highlights of the panel discussion on the UFC 207 post-show on FS1 discussing the Amanda Nunes dominant quick victory over Ronda Rousey:

•Miesha Tate: “I told you guys [Nunes] is the hardest hitting female in the division. She hurt her with the first jab. That’s what set it up. She rocked her. She set another jab up. She took her time. She didn’t over-pursue. She used her range and stayed at the end of her punches. She put Ronda right where she needed her.” Tate explained she picked Nunes until she saw Rousey at the weigh-in and that changed her mind.

•Michael Bisping: “I am still in shock. I can’t believe what I just saw. That was incredible from Amanda Nunes. I knew she was capable of doing that, but I didn’t see it happening, and certainly not that fast.”

•Kenny Florian: “I’m not sure my heart can take these kinds of events. What the heck is going on. Oh my goodness, that was unbelievable… Amanda Nunes is fast, she hits hard. But also we have to talk about the things Ronda Rousey didn’t do. She was not moving her feet, she was not moving her head. This is the same kind of thing she experienced against Holly Holm. She was stagnant out there. You can’t do that against someone like Amanda Nunes.”

•Bisping: “I knew she was capable of doing that. It thought the fight could go either way. It could have been Ronda by submission. It could have been Nunes. My word, I am blown away. I really am. I am in shocked.”

•Tate: “I thought Ronda would be moving her head more. I thought she’d know how imperative it would be to not sit still on the end of Amanda Nunes punches. She took one, it caught her off guard, and it was just an onslaught from there. That’s what Amanda Nunes has been continuing to improve on is using that long range. You think you’re out of range, that’s what crazy about it. You think you’re out of range and you’re not going to get hit, and somehow she reaches you at the end of the punches. She is deceptively long.”

Bisping: “The jab started everything. The nice solid jab kind of stunned Rousey. From there, she did a beautiful job of swarming her. Well done… More head movement, that would have been key, of course. At the end of the day, if you’re beat by the better fighter, there’s not a lot you can do. Amanda Nunes was on tonight, it was as simple as that. I think she was just outmatched in striking. Ronda tried to close the distance, she tried to get her hands on her. Amanda just wasn’t having it, wasn’t allowing it. If she couldn’t get the takedown, she couldn’t strike with her. Amanda is the better striker, and I don’t think training would ever close that gap.”

•Florian: “For Rousey, she wasn’t faking her way in. She didn’t use her strikes to set up that situation. There were no level changes at all. She was kind of in awe of the speed and power of Nunes. That first shot really threw her off, and when Nunes was throwing those kicks to the stomach, belly area, that threw her off.”

•Bisping: “When you’ve come back from a fight after a devastating loss, when you’ve been knocked out, it takes a little bit of time to find your grove. You almost have to get hit to feel comfortable in. The thing is, Amanda hits so hard, you can’t afford that.”

•Tate: “There is no feeling comfortable on the end of Amanda’s punches. I’ve been there. It’s not a comfortable place. There were two key things against Ronda in this fight. The ring rust. That is a real thing. She hasn’t been in there in over a year. I knew she tried to prepare her best and her coaches felt she would be at her best, but ring rust is a real thing. She’s going against a champion after a long layoff who has been hot on a win streak and just devastating everybody.”

•Bisping: “She should have had a tune-up fight first… To be the man you have to beat the man – or the woman. And that’s what she did tonight. I’m not saying she’s going to take all the star power Rousey had but everybody that loves Ronda watched tonight and they saw Amanda Nunes destroy her.”

•Florian: “Honestly, I think there are easier ways to make money at this point for Ronda Rousey. She’s done a lot of amazing things in this sport. She’s made a lot of money where she can be fine for the rest of her life. If you don’t see the kind of improvements in your striking at this point with 411 days off, I don’t know if we’re going to see it. I don’t think it’s worth it. She took a lot of damage tonight.”

•Tate: “She took a lot of damage with her fight with Holly Holm and tonight. She suffered major head trauma. Rousey is a talented person outside of fighting. I think she transitioning to something else at this point is probably going to be on her radar.”

•Bisping: “If the reports I’m hearing are true, she made an absolutely outstanding and massive payday tonight. She’s got a lot of money in the bank. She’s achieved it all. She was the face of the sport. She was a champion for a long time. She was so dominant, people were talking about her being able to beat Mike Tyson. She’s literally been there, done it, got the bank account. Walk away. You’ve done it. Walk away.”

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