Ronda Rousey improved to 9-0 at UFC 170. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Ronda Rousey successfully defended the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight crown with a first-round technical knockout against Sara McMann in the UFC 170 main event on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. However, it was not without controversy. McMann succumbed to a knee strike to the body and follow-up punches 66 seconds into round one, as the 2004 Olympic silver medalist experienced defeat for the first time in her professional career. Afterward, the focus was not on Rousey or McMann. Instead, it had shifted to referee Herb Dean, whose decision to halt the bout was called into question. Widely regarded as one of the sport’s premier officials, Dean was also at the center of controversy at UFC 169 on Feb. 1. There, he intervened on behalf of Urijah Faber in his bid to unseat UFC bantamweight champion Rena Barao. UFC 170 “Rousey vs. McMann” spawned a number of threads on the Sherdog.net forums:
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
FLAWED CHAMPION
PAGING ‘CYBORG’
PLAYED OUT
BUYER’S REMORSE
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