Nunes, who was defending her UFC women’s bantamweight title for the first time, landed strike after strike on a shoddy Rousey from the opening at the T-Mobile Arena.
Rousey, returning after a 13-month hiatus, was unable to defend herself against Nunes’ barrage of punches and the bout ended on referee Herb Dean’s stoppage, short of a full minute.
Shortly after the fight, Nunes uploaded a crudely edited image of a woman pushing a pram, with her head super-imposed onto the body and the head of a frustrated Rousey placed over the baby.
The image also showed Nunes carrying her bantamweight belt, which Rousey held for a total of 1,074 days following its inception in December 2012.
The defeat is the second of Rousey’s career following her shock knock-out at the hands of Holly Holm in November 2015.
Speculations now mounts as to whether Rousey’s time at the top of women’s MMA is over, and Nunes suggested as much in her post-fight comments.
“This is my time,” the 28-year-old said. “Ronda Rousey did a lot for the sport and we thank her for that, but now I am the champion.
“I loved it that they disregarded me. I prepared my body and spirit for this moment. Ronda Rousey was never going to take this belt from me.”
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