Rousey wins in 25 seconds

GLENDALE — Ronda Rousey’s Strikeforce debut came and went in the lighting-quick fashion that all of her fights — amateur and professional — have.

But after defeating Sarah D’Alelio via submission in just 25 seconds on Friday night at Strikeforce Challengers 18 in Las Vegas, it was apparent that the Glendale-trained mixed martial artist wasn’t exactly pleased with the boos that accompanied the controversial stoppage.

Nonetheless, Rousey improved to 3-0 as a professional with an armbar victory, as she jumped to lock in the hold and cranked back and then signaled to referee Steve Mazzagatti that D’Alelio (4-2) had verbally submitted. Shortly thereafter, Mazzagatti stopped the fight, a call which D’Alelio immediately protested.

“When I originally went for the submission, I actually felt her elbow go out and she said tap, tap, tap and I let it go a little bit,” said Rousey in a postfight, in-cage interview on the Showtime broadcast. “I re-cranked on it again and I turned to the referee and said, ‘She said tap,’ because I didn’t think she could use her other arm. I was just trying to be respectful to her.”

D’Alelio, in a the postfight interview, said she did not say, “tap,” but instead was making a sound because she was in pain.

“I didn’t say tap,” she said, “I said ahhh.”

Nonetheless, Rousey, 24, who trains with and was cornered by Glendale’s Edmond Tarverdyan, has won all six of her MMA bouts in a combined time of 3:22 and all three of her pro fights have totaled just 1:39. All six of her combined amateur and pro bouts have ended with an armbar win.

The featherweight bout (145 pounds) began with Rousey taking the center of the cage. Behind a pair of left jabs, Rousey engaged for a clinch and eventually slammed D’Alelio back against the cage. Other than a winging right from D’Alelio that brushed Rousey’s head, D’Alelio had no offense and could not shake Rousey’s clinch. Eventually, Rousey used a trip to take D’Alelio to the canvas on a knee and transitioned beautifully to a jumping armbar and cranked back, leading to the victory.

Rousey’s debut was a much-hyped one as she is a former two-time U.S. Olympian and a former judo bronze medalist.