Ronda Rousey's return to the octagon did not go to plan for her, her coaching staff, and possible the UFC marketing division, as Amanda Nunes needed less than a minute to show how far the former Olympian and UFC champ is behind in her striking. Something that had already been shown by Holly Holm in 2015.
The gameplan was out the window in seconds, and Rousey was dealt a crushing blow having taken time out to mentally prepare for her return, so of course there were going to be questions as to whether or not she is done with MMA. Rousey's star factor means that she can make big money through other avenues, regardless of her last two fights, so speculation that she would retire after UFC 207 was not that far-fetched, and is still a possibility judging by a statement she gave to ESPN.
After thanking her fans for their support, she admitted that she needed time to consider what is best for her going forward.
I want to say thank you to all of my fans who have been there for me in not only the greatest moments but in the most difficult ones. Words cannot convey how much your love and support means to me.
Returning to not just fighting, but winning, was my entire focus this past year. However, sometimes -- even when you prepare and give everything you have and want something so badly -- it doesn't work how you planned. I take pride in seeing how far the women's division has come in the UFC and commend all the other women who have been part of making this possible, including Amanda.
I need to take some time to reflect and think about the future. Thank you for believing in me and understanding.
If she does decided to continue fighting, there will be a lot of attention on her coaching team who have been widely criticised for the preparation ahead of Ronda's fights with Holm and Nunes.
Having had so much success using her world-class judo to put her in positions to finish fights, we have seen her try to stand and trade with high-level strikers, and both times it has ended very badly.
This is something Amanda Nunes spoke about after the fight, as she explained why she was seen 'shushing' Rousey's coach Edmond Tarverdyan from the octagon on Friday night.
She thinks she's a boxer, you know?
He put these things in her head and made the girl believe that. I don't know why he did that. She has great judo, and she could go further in this division, but he put some crazy thing in her head with his boxing, and her career started going down.
I'm the real striker here, and this is the only thing I wanted to look at him and say.
She is not the first, nor will she be the last to question Tarverdyan's affiliation with Ronda Rousey.
But for now Ronda has asked for time. She may well come to the decision to change things up and have a proper go at getting back in the hunt for the women's bantamweight title, or she may decide to walk away from the sport entirely. We'll just have to wait and see.
