Ronda Rousey’s got nothing on Fresno State quarterback Zack Greenlee.
Rousey only had to withstand six minutes of punishment from Holly Holm in a shocking upset in the main event of UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia, on Saturday.
Meanwhile, more than 5,000 miles away at Aloha Stadium, Greenlee withstood an onslaught of questionable hits– four roughing-the-passer calls in the first half alone — to throw for career highs of 285 yards and six touchdowns in a 42-14 win over the Rainbow Warriors.
At about the same time Rousey went to sleep via a kick to the neck, Greenlee delivered his fourth touchdown pass to give the Bulldogs a 28-7 lead going into halftime.
The 6-foot-1 sophomore from Stockton, Calif., who started for the first time in five games, withstood 11 Hawaii penalties, most for late hits, to lead the Bulldogs to their highest point total of the season.
"He got some late hits and I don’t know if they were trying to rough him up and get in his head, but he held in there," Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter said. "Sometimes you’ve got to stand up to the bully to feel good about yourself."
Greenlee got the nod at quarterback after winning an open competition with redshirt freshman Kilton Anderson, who had started the previous four games.
Both teams failed to score on their first three drives and Greenlee was backed up on the Bulldogs’ fourth possession when the punishment began.
Hawaii defensive back Nick Nelson was up first, drilling Greenlee up high to draw a flag for targeting, resulting in an ejection.
Three plays later, David Manoa took his turn hitting Greenlee late, resulting in another Bulldogs penalty.
Greenlee barely had time to dust himself off when Hawaii’s Kennedy Tulimasealii hit him in the head area with both hands after a pass attempt, drawing a third 15-yard flag on the same drive.
"We had to keep calm and collected," Greenlee said. "When something like that happens, some guys get fired up and there was a lot of talking going on. It definitely fires you up a little bit when guys are taking late shots or coming in high on the quarterback."
Unlike Rousey, who notched the first loss of her storied MMA career, Greenlee had no intention of losing this one.
He responded to Tulimasealii’s penalty with a 2-yard touchdown pass and threw three more scoring passes in the second quarter despite absorbing two more hits that were flagged.
He dealt Hawaii the crushing blow on the first play of the fourth quarter when he hooked up with Jamire Jordan on a 64-yard touchdown pass for the final margin.
Jordan tip-toed along the sideline to stay in bounds before racing into the end zone to give Greenlee the most TD passes thrown in a Mountain West Conference game this season.
"For me to sit in the pocket and get it to them and watch them go to work is awesome," Greenlee said. "When it goes like this, it’s beautiful."
Just like a swift kick to the neck.