“I knew I was going to beat the shit out of Ronda Rousey. Forget about Ronda Rousey. She’s going to do to movies now and retire.”

These were the brutal stinging words that came from Amanda Nunes after her crushing defeat of Ronda Rousey at UFC 207.

After all the hype and build up- it took less than 50 seconds for the Brazilian star to destroy her challenger.

For the forty-eight seconds that Rousey lasted she looked like a rabbit in headlights- totally lost.

She was pummelled by Nunes from the outset and had no answers whatsoever.

Official footage of Ronda Rousey training for #UFC207 pic.twitter.com/Nt1iKOXifH — Nate Townsend (@natedigad) December 31, 2016

Rousey looked understandably emotionless and downcast after the fight- a far cry from the unstoppable warrior we saw pre-UFC 193.

The shocking result has people questioning whether Rousey will ever appear inside the Octagon again. Even her Mum appears to be keen for it all to end.

Ronda Rousey’s Mom Wants Her to Retire After UFC 207 (VIDEO + PHOTO + PHOTO GALLERY) https://t.co/0g6HgdUc0W — TMZ (@TMZ) December 31, 2016

Rousey spoke to ESPN post-fight and was quick to thank her fans that have stuck with her through thick and thin.

“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,” Rousey said in a statement to ESPN.

“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.”

Rousey has also received overwhelming support from some of sport’s biggest names- including NBA star LeBron James.

“In sports, in general, they build you up as high as they can, put you on the highest mountain in the world, just to tear you down. That’s coming from somebody who has experienced it,” James told the Akron Beacon Journal on Saturday.

“That’s a fact. I know exactly how she feels because I was that athlete. I went through that.”

UFC star Jon Jones was also quick to slam the Ronda haters.

To all the people who loves to kick a person when they’re down. https://t.co/cb3b0vMygt pic.twitter.com/H8itfnUKyX — Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) 1 January 2017

So is this the end for the champ’s career? In terms of being inside the UFC octagon we think it is.

Most MMA fighters you speak to will tell you that a fighters “most important muscle is the brain”.

The last thing a fighter wants to do is jump into the Octagon low on confidence. After the events of UFC 207 you can be guaranteed Rousey’s will be sitting at zero.

But it’s not all doom and gloom- Ronda obviously has plenty of things going for her. There has been plenty of talk about a move to WWE which would make sense at this point. Ronda has also made no secret of her Hollywood aspirations- and now would seem like the perfect time for her to throw herself into films.

One things for sure whilst she pocketed $3 million from the Nunes fight- being beaten to a pulp in forty-eight seconds does huge damage to one’s pride. It’s hard to see any amount of money convincing Rousey to go through anything like that again.

by Michael T. Lynch – contributor