Search icon

Sport

27th Dec 2016

There’s a huge Ronda Rousey-shaped void in the new UFC 207 Embedded

Where are you?

Ben Kiely

Where oh where oh where is Ronda Rousey?

Anyone who caught the first episode of UFC 207 Embedded, the promotion’s fly-on-the-wall documentary series following fighters during fight week, will be aware of the notable absentee in the show.

Its primary goal is to spark interest for the event by giving a behind-the-scenes view of the final preparations of the UFC’s stars, but the main draw of the card, Ronda Rousey, is nowhere to be found.

The premiere episode begins with bantamweight title challenger Cody Garbrandt shopping for some custom-made suits, something we’ve come to associate with a certain UFC superstar who’s name has slipped our minds.

It then moves on to 135 lb king and P4P great Dominick Cruz hitting the gym, playing with his dog and then taking an early morning dip in his freezing pool in one of the dullest segments in the series since they filled airtime with Robbie Lawler changing a tyre on his truck.

Robbie Lawler tyre

A quick trip to Team Alpha Male where Garbrandt’s teammates show him some love precedes the final part of the episode where we catch up with women’s bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes going to Walmart with her girlfriend Nina Ansaroff to purchase a Christmas tree in another action-packed, thrill-a-minute, high-octane segment that’s exactly as exciting as it sounds.

It then cuts to Nunes doing some gym work before that obnoxious theme tune begins assaulting the eardrums. No sign of Ronda Rousey who the UFC have already confirmed won’t be partaking in media work to promote the card. There are concerns over her mental well-being heading into this fight following reports that she needed to be consoled backstage at the UFC 205 weigh-ins.