Well, that was anticlimactic.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey retained her 135-pound title by beating scrambling the brains of division number one contender Alexis Davis, in what amounted to 16 seconds of work in the co-main event of UFC 175 last Saturday night (July 5, 2014) in Las Vegas, Nevada.
See how it all went down here.
The "Ally-Gator" insisted she would be able to stop the champion's patented armbar, but was never afforded the opportunity to even try. As we learned in the Sara McMann fight, Rousey is no longer a one-trick pony. In addition to her Olympic judo background and dangerous submission game, "Rowdy" hits hard.
Really hard.
That's bad news for the next female fighter in line, widely-believed to be Cat Zingano. Like Rousey, "Alpha" is undefeated in her mixed martial arts (MMA) career and punched her ticket to a championship showdown by beating the brakes off fellow contender Miesha Tate.
If that feels like ancient history, it's because it is.
Zingano hasn't seen the inside of the cage since April of 2013, and assuming she fights Rousey later this year, it could be up to 20 months in between fights. But this wasn't a case of taking time off to wait for a title shot, or a matter of inconvenient timing.
This was one unfortunate tragedy after another.
The grappling phenom lost her spot on season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) when her knee exploded, and was forced to undergo major surgery that sidelined her for months. During her long and painful recovery, her husband committed suicide.
Even if she's 100 percent physically, we still don't know if she's 100 percent mentally.
As talented as Zingano is, we're not talking about an ordinary fight. Rousey has made a mockery of the women's division since her 2011 debut and not only has she looked invincible, she's never once needed the judges to tell her she won the fight.
That means "Alpha" has to battle stress, ring rust, an unproven knee, and the baddest female fighter in the world.
Fans are probably having a hard time getting amped for a Ronda Rousey fight, since each one has been less and less intriguing. I don't know what Zingano brings to the table that would help folks get excited for a potential bantamweight showdown, which explains why the promotion was trying so hard to pull this off.
Maybe next year.