UFC 207 Statistical Matchup Analysis: Nunes vs. Rousey

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is pulling out the big guns to finish off a record-setting year. In the headlining bout at UFC 207 on Friday, former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey makes her return to the cage after more than a year away from the fight game. Rousey became one of the biggest stars in the sport between 2012 and 2015, rattling off six dominant title defenses and pushing the female side of MMA to new heights. All of that came to a halt in November 2015, her most recent appearance in the cage, when Rousey was knocked out in devastating fashion by Holly Holm. Many question marks surround her return, especially since she has insisted on minimal media appearances.On the other side of the cage will be the current women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. “The Lioness” has been a mainstay in the division since 2011, fighting in Strikeforce and Invicta Fighting Championships before making her UFC debut in 2013. Nunes is currently riding a four-fight winning streak. She was last active in the Octagon in July, as she trounced then-champion Miesha Tate in the UFC 200 main event, notching a first-round submission to win the title. Prior to that, the Brazilian beat surging contender Valentina Shevchenko in March via unanimous decision. This will be her third fight of the year, and a win over Rousey will put her in the “Fighter of the Year” discussion. There are a lot of angles from which to see this fight. Let us take a look at the Tale of the Tape: In anthropometric terms, both women are evenly matched. The additional inch of height and reach that Nunes has represents a small edge, especially since her physicality plays into her technical game, but those differences are unlikely to be game-changers. Determining who has the experience advantage is difficult, as well. On one hand, the incumbent champion has fought professionally for longer, has more total fights and has logged an additional 20 minutes in the UFC and Strikeforce than Rousey has; and that does not include her stint in Invicta. On the other hand, Rousey has fought on the biggest stages of the sport, including nine championship fights in the UFC and Strikeforce. While Nunes has fought on big cards before — she was on the main card at UFC 196 and in the headliner at UFC 200 — Rousey has been under an …

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