It has been nearly a year since Ronda Rousey last fought as she lost to Holly Holm at UFC 193. UFC president Dana White has indicated that Rousey will return soon, possibly in December against Amanda Nunes although there is a slight chance that Rousey could be matched up first against Cris "Cyborg" Justino.
"Listen, Ronda wants to fight her," White said. "We'd have to figure out what weight, [but] Ronda wants that fight." Rousey was the champion at 135 pounds and has fought as high as 150 pounds. Cyborg has fought twice in UFC at the catchweight of 140 pounds. She defeated Lina Lansburg at 140 pounds at UFC Fight Night 95.
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Rousey has said previously that she won’t fight Cyborg unless the bout is held at 135 pounds, a weight that Cyborg has never gone down to. If Rousey fights Nunes and wins the title then perhaps she would come off of her demand of 135 pounds and fight at the catchweight of 140 pounds.
Rousey and Cyborg both fought as featherweights in Strikeforce and it was thought they would eventually fight each other. Rousey moved down to 135 pounds in 2012 and then signed with UFC while Justino never went to 135. If Rousey and Cyborg do end up fighting it might have to be at a catchweight of 140 pounds because there is no 145-pound weight division.
"There aren't enough 145-pound female fighters to start a 145-pound division," White said. "There just isn't. Cyborg is one girl, floating out there, who has that type of star power. She headlined Brazil for us." Cyborg’s last two fights have come at 140 pounds which is 15 pounds below her normal fighting weight of 155.
If Rousey is to take on Cyborg sometime in the future it probably won’t be until next year. "I want Ronda to come back," Cyborg said, "I think she should show people even when you lose, it's not the end of the world. You cannot give up."
One thing we do know is that Rousey is considered the biggest star in UFC history. “By far. Not even close. By far the biggest star,” White said. “Ronda Rousey is such a big star.”
The first fight for Rousey when she returns will probably be against Nunes who currently holds the Bantamweight title. “She wants to get her title back, you know.” White said adding that the fight would not be an easy one for Rousey, “Amanda, if you look at the fight she had with Miesha Tate, she broke Miesha Tate’s nose, bad.”
Rousey’s trainer Edmond Tarverdyan said that there is a chance that Rousey will fight again in 2016. “There’s a chance she fights to get her belt back this year,” Tarverdyan said, “but nothing is set yet.” The rumored date for a fight between Rousey and Nunes would be December 30th for UFC 207 in Las Vegas.
Rousey has not fought since losing to Holm at UFC 193 and for the most part she has stayed out of the news. That changed this week when she was seen in the documentary “The Hurt Business” which talks about how difficult it is to be an MMA fighter. Rousey talks about how MMA is a good outlet for fighting.
"I think a lot of people that are ignorant about [MMA] think that it promotes violence, when it really is the most responsible outlet for it," Rousey said. "It's a human instinct to fight, and if you try to suppress it entirely and put everyone in a bubble-wrapped society, that's when people end up going nuts and shooting movie theaters. If any of those people that had all of that aggression built up in them had some sort of outlet, I think that we would have a lot more societal health."
Women’s Bantamweight Rankings
1. Amanda Nunes (13-4) – UFC (Champion)
2. Ronda Rousey (12-1) – UFC
3. Miesha Tate (18-6) – UFC
4. Valentina Shevchenko (13-2) – UFC
5. Julianna Pena (8-2) – UFC
6. Holly Holm (10-2) – UFC
7. Cat Zingano (9-2) – UFC
8. Alexis Davis (17-6) – UFC
9. Tonya Evinger (18-5) – Invicta (Champion)
10. Sara McMann (9-3) – UFC
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