Brett Okamoto explains why Ronda Rousey is allowed to not take part in fight week media appearances leading up to UFC 207. (1:25)

It was the kick seen around the world.

Holly Holm's thud to the side of Ronda Rousey's face, which essentially ended the fight, was arguably the most shocking thing to happen in a combat sport since Mike Tyson was knocked out by Buster Douglas a quarter-century before.

Here was the 12-0 Rousey, who had spent a total of 64 seconds in the Octagon in her three previous fights, getting handled from start to finish in Australia's Etihad Stadium at UFC 193 on Nov. 15, 2015. It was a knockout blow that would be played over and over and over again.

Couple that with injuries and a comeback that saw her take a year off, and it would be understandable if her tremendous marketability took a hit.

In fact, the opposite has happened. As Rousey comes back to face Amanda Nunes on Friday in UFC 207, her appeal outside the Octagon has never been greater.

Rousey's agent, Brad Slater, had just gotten off the plane from Australia.

There was a message from "Saturday Night Live" producer Lindsay Shookus.

The two had discussed Rousey hosting in the past, but her loss to Holm likely meant Rousey would be pushed to the back burner, or so it seemed.

"I had fallen in love with who she was," Shookus said. "Just because she lost didn't change that, so I called Brad and told him it didn't matter. We still wanted her."

Ronda Rousey hosted "Saturday Night Live" two months after her loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193. Dana Edelson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

Rousey hosted "SNL" on Jan. 23, 2016, and the results were positive, judging from reviews of her acting skills and the size of the audience that night. Only four episodes that season were watched more than the one Rousey hosted -- though she had the advantage of being paired with the most-followed celebrity on Instagram, Selena Gomez, on a weekend when a snowstorm blanketed the East Coast.

Rousey had more eyeballs on her work that night than episodes hosted by the likes of Miley Cyrus, Amy Schumer, Tracy Morgan and even Drake.

She had mostly disappeared from the spotlight after her loss, which also played into the hands of "SNL."

"I can't think of any situation like this, where you had a celebrity who everyone wanted to see, but wasn't out there," Shookus said. "It worked out very well for us."

Rousey's first loss added complexity to her character, which oddly made her more appealing to the show.

"She became more human," Shookus said. "She became someone people could connect to."

In a strange way, the loss also made her more important to Reebok, which signed her to an endorsement deal in December 2014 to go along with the company's deal with the UFC.

"We had a campaign that we started called 'Be More Human,' and after she got knocked out, that campaign fit into what we were doing," said Reebok vice president Todd Krinsky.

As Reebok continues its quest to rise back to relevance, Krinsky said Rousey is as important a figure as anyone to have in their stable.

"She is an incredibly powerful personality and is extremely authentic," Krinsky said. "The only person I've worked with that is anything close to her is Allen Iverson. Both of them say, 'I don't care what people think about the decisions I make.'"

In February, Rousey went on the "Ellen" show and admitted that after her loss she contemplated suicide. In the eyes of many, she had never been more human.

Because Rousey doesn't participate in a traditional sport with regular appearances, her immense appeal is often overlooked.

She's the most-followed female athlete on Instagram (9 million), way ahead of No. 2 Serena Williams (4.9 million). She has twice as many followers as soccer star Alex Morgan (4.4 million).

According to data from polling brand Davie Brown Index, Rousey's endorsement is considered as valuable as that of Jamie Foxx, Roger Federer or Kobe Bryant. As a trendsetter, she ranks in the same category as Von Miller, Bryce Harper and Ezekiel Elliott, and the poll finds her appeal similar to that of Tim Tebow and Derek Jeter. That's just in the United States -- without considering her worldwide reach.

From those who have done business with Rousey, part of her appeal is that she knows who she sells to better than most.

In August 2015, Rousey did a campaign with Represent, a website that sells limited-edition T-shirts. Up until that point, the record amount of shirts they had sold with a celebrity campaign was 10,000 in 24 hours.

"Ronda and her agent, Brad, kept telling us they were going to shatter the record, and given the numbers they were talking, we frankly couldn't see how that could happen," said Bobby Maylack, the company's chief marketing officer. "We actually tried to calm them down to mitigate the disappointment."

Just a couple of weeks before, ahead of her UFC 190 fight against Bethe Correia -- which ended with a knockout in 34 seconds -- Rousey said one of things her mother didn't raise her to be was a "Do Nothing B----" or a "DNB." The clip did more than 3 million plays on YouTube, and the phrase went viral.

Rousey decided that's what she wanted on the shirt, since it could apply outside the Octagon.

"Guys we've worked with like Will Ferrell and Von Miller, we come up with the campaign and they approve it," Maylack said. "Ronda does everything. She's more understanding of who supports her than any celebrity we've ever seen."

There were 57,000 shirts sold over four days, with 13,000 coming in the first hour. Yes, Rousey beat the one-day campaign record in one hour.

Maylack said what they learned from the buyer data was that whereas most celebrity women have a 70-30 percent female-dominated fan demographic, Rousey is closer to 50-50.

Over the next 16 months, Rousey and her team at WME-IMG filed for 20 trademarks to "Do Nothing B----" or "DNB."

Her "Fear The Return" shirt, sold earlier this month by Represent, sold 8,461 shirts, a big number, Maylack said, considering it's fight-specific.

That Rousey became the marketing force that she did fits into one of those against-all-odds stories, one that begins with a neurological disorder that hampered her speech as a child and her father's suicide after getting seriously hurt in an accident.

A bronze medalist in women's judo at the 2008 Olympics, Rousey didn't have a place in the mixed martial arts world for nearly three years.

After her success in StrikeForce, UFC president Dana White, who once insisted there would never be a women's division, announced her signing in November 2012.

Rousey's rise to fame has been guided by her agent, who noticed her hanging out in the house on the show "The Ultimate Fighter."

"I was blown away by the respect the fighters had for her," Slater said.

As Rousey became more of a household name, Slater, the co-head of the talent department at WME-IMG -- which also represents Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson -- helped knock down barriers in corporate America.

"Marketers defaulted to saying that mixed martial arts is a blood sport that they needed to stay away from, and I would just challenge them to just watch three fights," Slater said. "Pay attention to Ronda and the other fighters and who they are."

In October 2014, Rousey signed a deal to be a spokesperson and model for Buffalo David Bitton jeans.

"That was a really big deal for us," Slater said. "It wasn't some autoglass company or some other sponsor that had been in the sport before. It was a jeans brand that went ahead and put her on an 80-foot billboard in Times Square."

If there's a moment when Rousey exploded onto the scene, it was at UFC 184 versus Cat Zingano in February 2015. It was the first time the Hollywood crowd had shown up to see her. It was admittedly easier since the bout was at the Staples Center.

Ronda Rousey needed just 14 seconds to win her fight against Cat Zingano at UFC 184. Ed Mulholland for ESPN

Rousey beat Zingano with her trademarked -- no, it really is trademarked -- armbar in 14 seconds.

Everyone was satisfied.

"I think the superstars in the crowd had never seen anything like that," Slater said.

After small parts in "Furious 7," "Entourage" and "The Expendables," Slater was ready to pitch and receive Hollywood offers for Rousey.

In July 2015, Rousey was inked to star in "Mile 22," which stars Mark Wahlberg, as a CIA agent.

Weeks later, she signed on to remake "Road House," the 1989 cult classic that made Patrick Swayze famous.

Her injury and comeback put "Mile 22" on the back burner, as Wahlberg and Berg went on to make "Patriots Day," based on the Boston Marathon bombing.

"Road House" was also shelved, as Slater said Rousey promised Swayze's widow, Lisa Niemi, that she would only make it if she could do honor to her late husband.

Still, Rousey has plenty on her Hollywood calendar.

She's involved in a comedy by Universal based on her phrase called "Do Nothing B----es," scheduled to star Tina Fey. She also has a three-picture deal with Lifetime to develop programming for them, and there's an eight-episode series called "Why I Fight,' which profiles fighting styles around the world. It's shot by Gotham Chopra and will be voiced by Rousey.

Ronda Rousey had a small role in "Furious 7" -- and has multiple future Hollywood projects lined up. AP Images/Invision/Matt Sayles

In between, Paramount bought the rights to adapt her autobiography, "My Fight/Your Fight," to the big screen.

Paramount president Marc Evans had dreamed of doing something with Rousey since he took a meeting with her as a favor to Slater before she fought her first UFC fight.

"I sat down with her, and she told her story, and I was absolutely mesmerized by it," Evans said. "I called Brad and told him that day, if she does an autobiography, I want film rights.

"In this world of Sheryl Sandberg and 'Leaning In,' I think that Ronda is a very credible figure for young women," Evans said.

If the film gets made, which is never a given in Hollywood, Evans said the second act becomes her loss to Holm.

"A loss doesn't mean the film doesn't get made," Evans said. "But a win here is a much better third act for us."

Beating Amanda Nunes is extremely important for Rousey to continue an upward trajectory in the marketing world, but the Pantene deal that she signed this month is a testament that corporate America believes in her no matter what.

The company is spending tens of millions of dollars to make Rousey the face of their brand, whose motto is "Strong Is Beautiful."

UFC 207 Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada

When: Friday

TV: PPV, 10 p.m. ET

"Ronda represents the duality," said Jodi Allen, vice president and general manager of North American Hair Care at Procter & Gamble. "A tremendous athlete and fierce competitor, alongside a very feminine side that you might not expect. This campaign captures both sides of her and tells women that they don't have to choose strength or beauty."

Authenticity is a common word mentioned by Rousey's business partners. She isn't looking to satisfy as many people as possible, and losing has made that even more true. The media hasn't had mass access to her since her loss to Holm.

Her latest slogan is "FTA" as in "F--- Them All." And yes, she has filed for five trademarks to that.

And despite the big business she has become, she -- unlike her male counterpart Conor McGregor -- says it's not all about collecting the most money she can.

"I've had no money before, and it wasn't the end of the world," Rousey told Ramona Shelburne in a recent feature for ESPN The Magazine. "If money is the motivation, then f--- that."

That doesn't change the fact that there are those in corporate America, in Hollywood and in the UFC -- which is now owned by the company that represents her -- who are betting on her to make them money.

It could be argued that that's what's really at stake on Friday night in Vegas.