Las Vegas Sun

Currently: 70° | Complete forecast |

UFC 184 live blog: Ronda Rousey’s latest victim, Cat Zingano, lasts 14 seconds

Holly Holm edges Raquel Pennington in split decision

UFC 184

Mark J. Terrill / AP

Ronda Rousey, right, consoles Cat Zingano after Zingano tapped out 14 seconds into a UFC 184 mixed martial arts bantamweight title bout Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015, in Los Angeles.

Updated Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 | 9:29 p.m.

UFC 184

Ronda Rousey gets ready to fight Cat Zingano in a UFC 184 mixed martial arts bantamweight title bout Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015, in Los Angeles. Rousey won after Zingano tapped out 14 seconds into the first round. Launch slideshow »

Note: Full results from the preliminary card available at the bottom of the page.

LOS ANGELES — Ronda Rousey and her corner inadvertently toppled a couple of empty chairs by the broadcast table as they exited the octagon Saturday night at Staples Center.

Other than the fact that hardly anyone was watching, the incident mirrored what happened inside the cage. Rousey continued to obliterate everything in her path, allowing Cat Zingano to last just 14 seconds before Zingano tapped out in the main event of UFC 184.

“I can’t wait to get some hot wings,” Rousey exclaimed in the cage in reference to her post-fight tradition to gorge on her favorite food.

The victory was Rousey’s fifth consecutive defense of her UFC women’s bantamweight title and her fastest yet. She defeated Alexis Davis in 16 seconds last July but topped the record for quickest win in a title fight by two seconds in her hometown.

Zingano flew out at the onset of the fight and threw a knee at Rousey, which played right into the champion’s hands.

“We were expecting that she might come out and throw something flying right away,” Rousey said. “I was originally going to check it but I caught her instead.”

Zingano suffered the first loss of her career without feeling like she ever got a chance to fight. She was in disbelief moments after the loss, continually muttering a choice four-letter word in the octagon interview with color commentator Joe Rogan.

“She had my arm and I saw her leg in there, I thought to grab it and hold it, but all of a sudden I was tapping,” Zingano said. “It was in but it wasn’t in. … I just want to do it again.”

That’s a wish unlikely to come true, at least not any time soon. Several fighters are lining up for a chance at Rousey with one of the most notable emerging victorious in the co-main event.

Former boxing champion Holly Holm was successful in her debut but not overwhelming, eking out a split-decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) against heavy underdog Raquel Pennington.

“There were a lot of nerves, and because of all the hype, I don’t think I could live up to it,” Holm said.

None of the other winners on the main card was nearly as melancholy. Jake Ellenberger submitted Josh Koscheck at 4:20 in the second round of their welterweight bout.

He locked up a north-south choke so tight that the veteran was literally foaming from his mouth.

Alan Jouban and Tony Ferguson were just as convincing in opening the pay-per-view, stopping Richard Walsh and Gleison Tibau respectively.

Walsh lasted 2:19 with Jouban before losing via TKO (standing elbows). Tibau survived 18 seconds longer before tapping to a rear-naked choke.

On almost any other card, it would have been the fastest submission. But not with Rousey still to come.

Check below for a live blog of the main card as well as preliminary results. Come back to lasvegassun.com for more coverage.

LOS ANGELES — By Ronda Rousey’s own admission, Cat Zingano has the most heart of anyone she’s ever faced.

Now it’s time to find out if the undefeated challenger has all of the other intangibles necessary to turn into a champion. Rousey risks her women’s bantamweight title against Zingano a couple hours from now in the pay-per-view main event of UFC 184 at the Staples Center.

It’s a fight long delayed by adversity, almost all of it endured by Zingano. She became the top contender with a win over Miesha Tate in April 2013, but tore her ACL within a couple weeks training.

The injury squandered a chance for her to coach opposite Rousey on “The Ultimate Fighter” and sent her late husband and coach Mauricio Zingano into a depression, according to an ESPN The Magazine story. Mauricio tragically took his own life while Cat recovered.

Zingao won one fight, against Amanda Nunes last September, to regain her top-contender status. She’s promised to knock off Rousey ever since, which would go down as one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

The final five fights at the event open the possibility of several major upsets. Every bout features a favorite of at least 2-to-1.

The most likely winner behind Rousey, according to the betting odds, is Holly Holm in the co-main event. The former champion boxer makes her UFC debut against Raquel Pennington as a 7-to-1 favorite.

Holm is in a group of fighters that could conceivably get the next crack at Rousey along with Cristaine “Cyborg” Santos, who knocked out Charmaine Tweet in 46 seconds down the street last night.

No one is that close to a title shot in the male fights, though two-time top contender Josh Koscheck makes his return from a two-year absence against Jake Ellenberger. Both veterans have lost three in a row, making the welterweight bout crucial to their job security.

Highly regarded Alan Jouban is also featured in a welterweight bout against Richard Walsh. Jouban also works as a model, a career Walsh has said he would threaten by tearing up his opponent’s face.

Tony Ferguson and Gleison Tibau open the pay-per-view momentarily in the lightweight division. Neither Ferguson nor Tibau rank in the top 15 of the UFC rankings currently, but that should change for the winner.

Stay tuned to lasvegasssun.com for live round-by-round coverage of the main card and look below for full results from the preliminaries.

Roan Carneiro choked Mark Munoz unconscious, winning via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:30 of the first round. Munoz did nothing before Carneiro took him to the ground, where the Brazilian immediately transitioned and finished the fight.

Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto and Roman Salazar saw their bantamweight bout end in a no contest. Salazar lost vision when Yamamoto inadvertently poked him in the left eye at 2:37 of the second round.

Dhiego Lima never stood a chance. Tim Means knocked out Lima at 2:17 in the first round, staggering the "The Ultimate Fighter" 19 veteran before he had a chance to land anything on "The Dirty Bird".

Heavyweights predictably provided the first stoppage of the evening. Derrick Lewis defeated Ruan Potts by TKO at 3:18 of the second round with a series of stiff hammerfists.

Valmir Lazaro edged James Krause with a split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) in a lightweight bout. Many media scores had Krause winning by virtue of outstriking Lazaro but the judges favored the latter for his control.

In one of the most action-packed openers in quite some time, a featherweight fight came down to a split decision. One more judge sided with Masio Fullen to give him a split-decision win (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) over "The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America" castmate Alexander Torres.

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy