Rousey returns to challenge Nunes at UFC 207
While the wait is yet to conclude, the speculation has.
“Rowdy” Ronda Rousey will make her long-awaited, much-anticipated and certain-to-be-watched-by-many return to the octagon.
The first-ever Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s champion will return to challenge for the title she lost when she squares off with reigning queenpin Amanda Nunes on Dec. 30 at the UFC 207 pay-per-view main event from Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
“#UFC207 #FeartheReturn #Dec30th #RouseyvsNunes,” Rousey tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.
While the booking had been rumored for weeks, it became official with an announcement made by UFC President Dana White late Wednesday morning on “The Herd” radio show with Colin Cowherd.
“Ronda’s BACK!!! Nunes vs Rousey Friday Dec 30 on PPV!!!!!! #UFC207,” White tweeted Wednesday.
The 29-year-old Rousey (12-1, 6-1 in UFC) was the first and only UFC women’s bantamweight titlist, successfully defending her crown seven times, until she was knocked out by Holly Holm on Nov. 14, 2015 in Melbourne.
Since then, the 135-pound title has seen a musical chairs of champions, with Holm losing her first defense to Rousey-archrival Miesha Tate, who was then submitted by Nunes (13-4, 6-1 in UFC) at UFC 200 on July 9.
Rousey, who trains at the Glendale Fighting Club under coach Edmond Tarverdyan, is likely the largest mainstream star in mixed martial arts history. She has appeared in major motion pictures such as “The Expendables 3,” “Furious 7,” and “Entourage,” along with spots at “Wrestlemania,” just about every late night talk show, had her autobiography “My Fight/Your Fight” reach the New York Times best seller list and hosted “Saturday Night Live.”
All that stardom came from her role as a mixed martial arts trailblazer and as one of the most recognized female athletes in sports history.
A two-time United States Olympian in judo, she won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.
She began her MMA career as an amateur in the summer of 2010. By March of 2012, in just her fifth professional fight, she defeated Tate via first-round armbar (the same fashion that she defeated her first seven opponents) for the Strikeforce 135-pound title. Eventually, the UFC absorbed Strikeforce and Rousey became its first women’s champion, defending her title in the company’s first female fight on Feb. 23, 2013 at UFC 157 against Liz Carmouche.
Nunes, 28, made history, as well, when she defeated Tate and became the UFC’s first openly gay champion. The Brazilian trains at American Top Team in Florida and is known for her aggressive and ferocious striking style along with a slick submission game, particularly her chokes.
Rousey has long been regarded for her judo prowess and trademark armbar in which she won her first eight fights. Rousey also has three knockout wins and her striking noticeably improved, but was criticized heavily in her loss to Holm, a former multiple-time world champion boxer.
Rousey, who has taken on an exorbitant amount of media in the past, has been relatively absent from the public eye since her first career defeat, though she announced before the Holm bout that she was planning to take time off.
Speculation grew and grew as to when Rousey would come back or even if she would, as many speculated she would simply forego MMA for the silver screen.
In her absence, many in the media and fans, alike, surmised that the women’s 135-pound division had improved since Rousey laid waste to it with seven (one in Strikeforce, six in UFC) defenses all via stoppage and six inside the first round.
However, a closer look shows that kickboxer Valentina Shevchenko is really the only new contender that has emerged since Rousey has been inactive while Julianna Pena has also climbed the ranks, though she was in the contender conversation when Rousey last fought.
Of Nunes’ four career losses, three have come to opponents (Alexis Davis, Sarah D’Alelio and Cat Zingano) that Rousey has defeated, all of them wins coming inside 30 seconds. Rousey and Nunes share four other common opponents (Tate, Ediane Gomes, Julia Budd and Sara McMann), with both owning stoppage wins against all of them.
Rousey is currently ranked No. 2 in the UFC 135-pound women’s rankings.
UFC 207 will take place as a rare Friday pay-per-view with New Year’s Eve on Saturday.
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Grant Gordon, grant.gordon@latimes.com
Twitter: @TCNGrantGordon
