Rousey says Amanda Nunes is forced to predict an early knockout because of her tendency to gas out in the second round.
Last month during UFC 205 fight week, women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes boldly predicted a first-round knockout against the returning Ronda Rousey at UFC 207.
Nunes, who was crowned the new 135 lbs champ after submitting Miesha Tate in July, has finished ten of her thirteen wins in the first round, but three of her four losses came in the later rounds.
Rousey, the former bantamweight kingpin, says ‘The Lioness’ gasses out in the second round and believes it is a major chink in her armor.
"Well she kind of has to say that because everyone knows she gasses out in the second so she has to tell herself that," Rousey said on the Conan O’Brien Show on Wednesday (h/t Damon Martin of FOX Sports). "What else is she going to tell herself? She has to sleep at night somehow."
‘Rowdy’ is also a relative stranger to the second and third rounds, as 11 of her 12 career victories came by way of stoppage in the first. The Olympic bronze medalist was knocked out in the second round by Holly Holm last year, and UFC 207 will mark her return to the Octagon after spending over 12 months on the sidelines.
UFC 207, which features Nunes vs. Rousey in the main event, takes place later this month, Dec. 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.