Promoter Dana White consoles his prized asset

In a night where former champions were on the receiving end throughout, the once great Ronda Rousey was badly exposed by Amanda Nunes.

Rousey; whose tear through the amateur and professional MMA ranks, via armbar submissions, will be remembered as one of the great storylines of the Zuffa-era; was completely dismantled by the rangy Nunes.

The openly homosexual Brazilian positioned herself as the new ambassador for the women’s branch of the sport, with a searing post-fight promo, as she celebrated victory with her girlfriend.

Deploring a crowd which unfairly booed her throughout, she uttered the epitaph “Forget Ronda Rousey”. The Lioness stated that there is much more to WMMA than Rousey’s celebrity and that there are a number of hard-grafting athletes, that will now battle for the spotlight, in the next generation.

The fight itself was shortlived. In just 48 seconds, Nunes disassembled Edmond Tarverdyan’s ill-advised boxing-centric gameplan. Judoka Rousey was unable to defend strikes with the correct technique and experienced official Herb Dean simply stepped in and stopped the contest on the feet.

A disoriented Ronda had flopped and bounced around the cage for long enough.

Once arguably the pound-for-pound best in the world, Rousey was a bold pioneer who changed Dana White’s perspective on women’s fighting.

However, the Olympian cut a solemn figure as she sheepishly departed the Octagon before any Joe Rogan interview could occur.

What comes next for the 29-year-old is anyone’s guess.

Full Results:

Main card
Amanda Nunes def. Ronda Rousey via first-round TKO (0:48)
Cody Garbrandt def. Dominick Cruz via unanimous decision
T.J. Dillashaw def. John Lineker via unanimous decision
Dong Hyun Kim def. Tarec Saffiedine via split decision
Ray Borg def. Louis Smolka via unanimous decision

Undercard
Neil Magny def. Johny Hendricks via unanimous decision
Antonio Carlos Junior def. Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision
Alex Garcia def. Mike Pyle via first-round KO (3:34)
Niko Price def. Brandon Thatch via sub (arm-triangle choke) (R1, 4:30)
Alex Oliveira vs. Tim Means ruled no-contest