“Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas.” Ronda Rousey was again entering the cage as a monstrous favorite, yet commentary was spinning Alexis Davis as the toughest opponent yet for the women’s bantamweight champion. Then, before most fans had retaken their seats after the introductions – and in much less time than it took Bruce Buffer to announce them – the fight was already over in violent fashion. Rousey took just 16 seconds total to force a referee intervention to save the semi-conscious Davis from additional unobstructed punishment. Rousey’s performances have been remarkable for a variety of reasons, and efficiency is clearly one of them. She has finished every one of her opponents, averaging less than 149 seconds per fight through her total career. Arguably, she has been even more efficient in her two recent striking victories than during her eight-fight win streak of armbar submissions. She is now tied for the second fastest UFC title win of all time, and also lands 14th on the very same list of these dominant championship wins.
Despite still feeling like a relative newcomer to MMA’s biggest stage (only four UFC appearances to date), Rousey has already made a clear mark on the sport in a way that will one day land her on all relevant Hall of Fame lists. Going into UFC 175 as a -900 favorite over Davis, Rousey’s average UFC career closing odds are now -710, making her the biggest average betting favorite in UFC history. And twice appearing on the fastest title wins list, Rousey is already keeping company with other two-appearance legends like Frank Shamrock, Andrei Arlovski, and Vitor Belfort. I don’t think it will be long before she has three or more title victories in such short order. With a matchup with Cat Zingano looming somewhere down the road, the betting public might have more to think about when it comes to capping Ronda Rousey against a more proven talent. In the meantime, she remains the most dominant champion in UFC history by the numbers, and will likely remain so for a while until new talent is developed in this small division.