7 Predictions For Ronda Rousey's UFC Return
6. Rousey Will Take The Fight To The Ground Early
So how does Ronda Rousey succeed in her return bout against Amanda Nunes and reclaim the women's bantamweight championship? Play to her strengths.
What does that entail?
Get the fight to the ground, and get it to the ground early.
Amanda Nunes is a great fighter, clearly. She's the champion, after all. Yet there's an asterisk to that, and it has a lot to do with Rousey. After Rousey went into exile, the belt changed hands a few times. Miesha Tate, a women's MMA pioneer and former Strikeforce champ, beat Holly Holm. Then Nunes beat Tate at UFC 200. She did that by swarming Tate early, bloodying her badly then choking her out.
That's what Rousey needs to avoid - that early rush. Nunes has lost to a couple of fighters (Cat Zingano, Alexis Davis) that Rousey has defeated, and while "MMA Math" doesn't always work, Nunes offers little Rousey hasn't seen before.
Rousey needs to go back to her judo roots, employ her throws and gets Nunes down. Forget about all the talk about her boxing having improved. We've heard that before, and either way this isn't the fight to test it out in.