She’s back.
Ronda Rousey’s much-anticipated return will happen Friday night at UFC 207, when she faces women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes for her old title at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
All eyes will be on the former bantamweight champion when she enters the octagon for the first time since her devastating loss to Holly Holm in November 2015. Nunes won the title from Miesha Tate at UFC 200.
But that’s not the only title fight on Friday night, as men’s bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will defend his title against Cody Garbrandt in the UFC 207 co-main event.
The main card will begin at 10 p.m. ET, but there will be plenty of intriguing preliminary bouts to hold fight fans over until then.
We will have real-time results for every UFC 207 fight, as well as round-by-round analysis for Rousey vs. Nunes and Cruz vs. Garbrandt right here on our live blog. You also can watch all the action here.
Ronda Rousey Vs. Amanda Nunes Round-By-Round Commentary
Pre-Fight
The wait finally is over. Rousey has made her way to the octagon and has her eyes set on winning back the bantamweight title she lost over a year ago.
HERE COMES ROWDY @RondaRousey!!! #UFC207 pic.twitter.com/HxswgXPqYh
— UFC (@ufc) December 31, 2016
First Round
WOW!
Nunes came out swinging and totally stunned her opponent. Rousey was in immediate trouble, and the fight didn’t last much longer, as Nunes destroyed the challenger with a bevy of punches.
Result
Nunes retained her title via TKO at 0:48 seconds in the first round.
Dominick Cruz Vs. Cody Garbrandt Round-By-Round Commentary
Pre-Fight
Cruz and Garbrandt have made their way to the octagon.
It’s time for the five-round co-main event for the men’s bantamweight championship.
First Round
There was no way these two were touching gloves.
Both fighters showed excellent movement throughout the first round. Garbrandt clearly wanted to go after Cruz’s legs, and he landed a few shots. He also showcased his confidence with some in-octagon trash talk.
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Garbrandt earned a takedown late in the round, as it was an all-around solid start for the challenger. Cruz did land some punches of his own, though, which likely caused the cut above his right eye.
Second Round
Garbrandt landed a nice combination early in the round, but Cruz got instant revenge with a hard left hand.
But Garbrandt didn’t go away, as he connected on a nice left hook with just about two minutes remaining in Round 2 and closed the round with a great flurry, too. Both fighters are landing their punches and kicks, and it’s very close so far.
Third Round
Garbrandt opened the third with a strong series of punches and busted Cruz open above the left eye. Joe Rogan said the wound was caused by a headbutt.
Cruz looked like he had the upper hand with a pair of punches with about two minutes remaining, but Garbrandt broke it up with a string to the champion’s legs.
Fourth Round
It’s impossible to overstate how nasty Cruz’s wound is. Still, he got it fixed up enough to return for the championship rounds.
Garbrandt tagged Cruz with a huge shot, but the challenger pointed at Cruz instead of trying to finish him off, which gave the champ just enough time to recover.
Cruz was wild with his punches, and Garbrandt showed off some dance moves in the center of the octagon. Someone was feeling pretty good about his chances at this point, as he should.
Garbrandt knocked Cruz down multiple times late in the round, and he never wavered in his cockiness.
Fifth Round
Garbrandt continued to mock Cruz in the final round, and while the champion did look better in the fifth, it likely was far too little too late for him.
The challenger, meanwhile, looked like someone who thought he already won the match before the final five minutes. Neither fighter landed anything too significant in the round, which means there likely will be a new champion.
And after all that trash talk, the two showed mutual respect as they embraced in the center of the octagon after the final bell sounded.
Result
Cruz’s reign is over. Garbrandt is the new champion via unanimous decision, 48-46, 48-47, 48-46.
MAIN CARD
Amanda Nunes def. Ronda Rousey, via TKO (Round 1, 0:48)
Cody Garbrandt def. Dominick Cruz, via unanimous decision (48-46, 48-47, 48-46)
TJ Dillashaw def. John Lineker, via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Dong Hyun Kim def. Tarec Saffiedine, via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Ray Borg def. Louis Smolka, via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
FS1 PRELIMS
Neil Magny def. Johny Hendricks, via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Antonio Carlos Junior def. Marvin Vettori, via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Alex Garcia def. Mike Pyle, via knockout (Round 1, 3:34)
Niko Price def. Brandon Thatch, via submission (Round 1, 4:30)
UFC FIGHT PASS PRELIMSÂ
Alex Oliveira vs. Tim Means, no contest (Round 1, 3:33)
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Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
