The timing of Amanda Nunes’ apology to Ronda Rousey is very interesting.
Nunes spoiled the return party at UFC 207 by annihilating Rousey in the first round of their headliner.
Once the biggest superstar in the sport, Rousey’s future was suddenly in doubt after a second successive knockout loss. The air of invincibility was crumbled to dust by Holly Holm’s thunderous head kick and any feeling that she could hang with the new wave of elite female fighters suffered the same fate when Nunes lit her up like a Christmas tree.
After the referee intervened to put Rousey out of her misery, Nunes celebrated before giving “Rowdy” a message inside the Octagon, as she explained in the post-fight press conference.
“I told her ‘you did a lot for the sport. You did a lot, but now you can take time and do something else. You don’t need to keep doing that.”
Not long after, Nunes sent an Instagram post that rubbed salt in Rousey’s fresh wounds to gloat over her triumph. The post received some criticism, most notably from top contender Cat Zingano, who thought she had overstepped the mark.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOq9MWFjExh/?taken-by=amanda_leoa&hl=en
Flash-forward a month later and Nunes has finally confessed that her treatment of the fighter who paved the way for female fighters in the UFC was wrong.
Her apology came just a few hours after UFC president Dana White informed everyone on the UFC Unfiltered podcast that Rousey’s fighting days are likely over. Although he was reluctant to confirm that Rousey had officially called it quits, he got a strong sense from talking to her that this would be her next move.
“I wouldn’t say she fights again. I think she’s probably done. She’s going to ride off into the sunset and start living her life outside of fighting.”
When these comments started to spread around the internet, Nunes sent her Instagram post apologising to Rousey, the UFC and the fans for her actions following the knockout.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BP8V5wYDQXv/?taken-by=amanda_leoa&hl=en
