Amanda Nunes to Ronda Rousey: ‘You don’t need to keep doing this’

After punching Ronda Rousey 27 times in 48 seconds to retain her women’s bantamweight title with a first-round knockout in the main event of UFC 207 on Friday at T-Mobile Arena, Amanda Nunes took a moment to console the former champion and international superstar.

Nunes embraced Rousey and spoke into her ear for several seconds as the crowd buzzed while trying to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

“I told her, ‘You did a lot for the sport. Thank you. Now you can rest and maybe do something else. You don’t need to keep doing this,’ ” Nunes revealed late Friday at the postfight news conference.

“She’s a millionaire. She doesn’t have to keep hurting herself. She has to retire.”

It’s possible Rousey’s second consecutive knockout loss will mark the end of the line in her phenomenal career.

Rousey, a former Olympic bronze medalist in judo, submitted her first 12 professional opponents in mixed martial arts, with only one getting out of the first round.

Rousey’s combination of beautiful violence inside the cage and crossover mainstream appeal outside of it allowed her to single-handedly force the UFC into adding a women’s division.

Her aura of invincibility was shattered with a stunning knockout loss to former boxing world champion Holly Holm in November 2015 in Australia. The division moved on as she went into relative seclusion in the past year, and even when she finally announced a return to challenge for the belt that had passed from Holm to Miesha Tate to Nunes, Rousey declined every interview request and chose not to actively promote the fight.

The media blackout continued after the fight, as Rousey left the arena without speaking to reporters, leaving others to speculate on her future.

On Saturday, Rousey issued a statement provided to ESPN:

“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.”

UFC president Dana White said on ESPN late Friday that he spent 45 minutes with Rousey after the fight. He said that while she was in better spirits than she was after losing to Holm, she again was upset because she hates losing.

White said he is unsure of Rousey’s next step.

“She’s very competitive. She does not like to lose,” he said. “She loves to win, and she loves to finish doing whatever she set out to do.

“She’s very rich. She doesn’t need to fight anymore, but she’s super competitive. Maybe she wants to. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.

“None of this would be here without Ronda Rousey. She built this. She talked me into letting women in the UFC, and it was the smartest thing I’ve ever done. Regardless of whether she comes back or not, she’s a winner. She built this whole thing.”

Nunes cautioned against Rousey fighting again.

“For sure she’s going to retire,” Nunes said. “She can’t take any more. If she wants a rematch, I’m going to do the same thing. She can’t take my punches.”

While Rousey’s star has plummeted, Nunes’ is starting to shine.

In her past two fights, she has dismantled the two biggest stars in the division in major headlining spots. Nunes won the belt by submitting Tate in the first round of the main event of UFC 200 and followed with Friday’s dominant effort.

“My career grew so fast in this year,” the 28-year-old said. “I’m just very happy.”

Now she wants to take time to rest. She plans on buying a house with her girlfriend, UFC fighter Nina Ansaroff, and also will buy one for her mom in Brazil.

Stepping into the cage with Rousey means big bucks when you have a share of the pay-per-view revenue. Nunes said she will find out in a few weeks exactly how much the largest payday of her career will yield.

Perhaps more important for her future, Nunes can move forward as the unquestioned queen of a division that once was Rousey and everyone else.

“People can stop talking about only Ronda and Miesha,” Nunes said. “There’s a lot of talent in this division, and people need to see this. I think now this will change a lot of things.”

Nunes, who said she felt “a little bad” for Rousey, has won five straight fights, with four first-round stoppages.

Nunes declined to name any possible opponents for her next fight.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.