Ronda Rousey grapples with memory of last fight as comeback nears

Ronda Rousey may be coming back for the money and the spotlight. She’s also coming back to bury a memory.

A memory of her last MMA fight: a brutal TKO loss to Amanda Nunes, Dec. 30, 2016, almost a decade ago.

Rousey has made it clear her MMA fight against Gina Carano on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., is a chance to rewrite the last chapter of her career. The action thriller ended like a nightmare.

At 44, Carano looks to be suitably old and removed from her prime for Rousey to make a triumphant comeback at 39. But when she climbs into the cage for the first time in almost a decade, the horrifying memories might be with her.

A hard stare, a stunning Rousey defeat

Almost a year before fighting Nunes, Rousey looked terribly vulnerable for the first time in her career. Holly Holm landed a head kick in the second round and finished off Rousey with punches, dethroning Rousey after six straight title defenses.

It was hard to imagine a more stunning defeat when Rousey got into the cage with Nunes in front of a sellout crowd of 18,533 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Rousey wore blue, designating her as the challenger, and Nunes wore black, designating her the champion. They came face-to-face for the referee’s instructions.

Rousey stared at Nunes hard.

Soon enough, the fight for the UFC bantamweight championship, which then belonged to Nunes, was underway.

Rousey, the Ex-champ, backpedals

Twelve seconds into the bout, Nunez landed the first clean punches – a combination to Rousey’s face. Nunes followed up with an overhead right that backed up Rousey.

Suddenly, Rousey, the proud former champion, was backpedaling.

But not fast enough.

It was only 19 seconds into the fight, and Nunes landed another big right. Then came the hailstorm, Nunez landing clean shots again and again, stirring up the crowd. Rousey was struggling to stay on her feet before Nunes connected with one more crushing blow.

The referee, Herb Dean, stepped in and called the fight. Nunez had won by a brutal first-round TKO and turned Rousey into a rag doll just 48 seconds into the fight.

Rousey vs Nunes: The aftermath

Nunes held her right index finger to her lips, as if shushing the pro-Rousey crowd. But the violence had whipped the spectators into a frenzy.

Rousey’s face was reddened, her nose was bleeding. It wasn’t clear she knew quite where she was or what had happened.

 “Stunning, devastating victory by Nunes,’’ Joe Rogan said on the broadcast. “Wow, she lit Ronda up like a Christmas tree.’’

When they announced the official outcome, Nunes leaped for joy. Rousey stared at the mat.

For more than a year, Rousey did not truly re-emerge into public life.

When is Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano? Stream and how to watch

• Date: Saturday, May 16
• Time: 6 pm ET, main card starts
• Where: The Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California
• Streaming: Netflix, free with monthly subscription as low as $7.99

Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card

Card information according to Netflix:

• Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano (featherweight bout at 145 pounds)
• Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry
• Francis Ngannou vs. Face Philipe Lins
• Salahdine Parnasse vs. Kenneth Cross
• Junior Dos Santos vs. Robelis Despaigne
• Muhammad Mokaev vs. Adriano Moraes
• Jefferson Creighton vs. Jason Jackson
• Namo Fazil vs. Jake Babian
• David Mgoyan vs. Albert Morales
• Aline Pereira vs. Jade Masson-Wong
• Chris Avila vs. Brandon Jenkins