Ronda Rousey's the best there is, and that's all there is to it.
Maybe there's a worthy challenger out there, but that's a definite "maybe" after Rousey demolished Alexis Davis in only 16 seconds in UFC 175's co-main event.
In so doing, Rousey retained her UFC women's bantamweight title and moved to 10-0 in professional MMA. The former Olympic medalist in judo is still only 27 years of age.
The action began very quickly, with Rousey grabbing ahold of Davis in the center of the Octagon after a brief exchange of jabs. Rousey executed a hip toss, flipping Davis over her body and landing in side control with a side headlock to boot.
With her free hand, Rousey immediately began landing short strikes right in the center of Davis' face. Despite their quickness, the blows still generated plenty of force, and the referee was forced to call the stoppage when Davis briefly went limp.
It was a testament to Davis' lack of awareness that she wrestle the referee for several seconds after she regained consciousness:
Alexis Davis is standing in front of us here on press row, and I gotta say, those arms look pliable.
—Chuck Mindenhall (@ChuckMindenhall), July 6, 2014
The official end came by knockout at 16 seconds in the first round.
"I box six days a week," Rousey told broadcaster Joe Rogan in the cage after the fight in regard to her striking skills, which have improved markedly in recent fights. "I grapple and wrestler four days a week altogether, so I have more to catch up on on my striking, so I do that the most."
The performance was especially scary given Davis' credentials. She is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and was riding a five-fight winning streak coming into UFC 175. However, Rousey treated Davis as the most elementary of challengers.
It will be interesting to see who the UFC puts in front of Rousey next. The most logical choice is Cat Zingano, who was originally supposed to coach opposite Rousey on The Ultimate Fighter and then face the champion in the cage before a major knee injury sidelined her for an extended period of time. Zingano has recently resumed training and might have the physical tools to contend with Rousey.
Another option is Brazilian wrecking machine Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino, though Justino is not under contract with the UFC and the two sides have had repeated difficulties at the negotiating table.
