Ronda Rousey’s Best Friend Marina Shafir KO’d In 2nd MMA Fight

MMA prospect Marina Shafir, better known as Ronda Rousey’s best friend and training partner, suffered a shock first round KO loss to Amanda Bell in her second professional bout at a Lights Out Promotions event last night.

Shafir had entered into the bout with an unbeaten record, going 5-0 as an amateur and 1-0 as a professional, with all her bouts ending in the first round armbar submission, just like Rousey.

With that in mind there were high hopes that Shafir could go on to emulate her famous friends success, and indeed despite still being a relative newcomer to the sport, she had made it known she was interested in fighting fellow 145lb’er Cris ‘Cyborg’.

However, the 26 year-old’s hype train was at least partially derailed by Bell who came into the fight with a 1-2 record and knocked her out in just 37 seconds, initially dropping her with a left hook then flooring her again with a right hand as she stood up before finishing the job off with a few hard punches on the mat.

Shafir is one of the so-called ‘Four Horsewomen’, a team of female fighters fronted by Rousey and also included UFC fighters Shayna Baszler and Jessamyn Duke.

Their alliance has got off to a rocky start so far though with Duke having also lost her last two bouts, and Baszler will now be looking to buck the trend when she finally makes her official UFC debut later this month at UFC 177.

Of course Rousey continues to go from strength to strength in the Octagon, KO’ing her last opponent Alexis Davis in just 16 seconds at UFC 175 to go a perfect 10-0 as a professional.

Watch Shafir’s fight with Bell below.

Over the years I've watched the UFC develop into the powerhouse it is today, organizations like PRIDE, Strikeforce and WEC rise and fall, and Bellator emerge as a new force on the MMA landscape. Throughout it all I've remained captivated by the sport and I'm excited to cover what comes next here on MMA Insight.