The return of Ronda Rousey to the UFC octagon was as hyped as it was brief, as she was flattened by Amanda Nunes in 48 seconds.

Rousey was hoping to take back the bantamweight title she lost when a brutal Holly Holm kick left her unconscious on the canvas at Docklands Stadium in November 2015.

The knockout was so brutal it took Rousey over a year to return to the sport, prompting huge advertising campaign and an equally gargantuan huge payday.

But Nunes was in no mood to bow down to the one-time queen of the UFC, rocking Rousey with the first punches of the fight.

Rousey staggered and stumbled backward while Nunes relentlessly pursued her and landed multiple shots.

Just as it was with Holly Holm, the striking power of Nunes was too much for Rousey. ( AP: John Locher )

Referee Herb Dean stopped the bout with Rousey still on her feet, and Rousey briefly protested the stoppage before leaving the cage in her mother's arms.

Meanwhile, Nunes was landing some blows with her words.

"Now she's going to retire and go do movies," she said.

"We have, in this division, a lot of talent. Forget about Ronda Rousey."

Nunes rubbed salt in the wound mere minutes after the fight with a photoshopped tweet showing her walking along, holding the belt while pushing a baby Rousey in a pram.

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Rousey could not compete in her first fight since losing her belt to Holm 13 months ago in her first career defeat.

Rousey became one of the world's most famous female athletes and a combat sports trailblazer while she rocketed to the top of the UFC, but a year away from the sport apparently did little to heal the holes in her game.

Nunes claimed her belt with a violent stoppage of Miesha Tate at UFC 200 in July, completing an unlikely ascent for a Brazilian veteran whose skills have improved in recent years.

AP/ABC