The level of domination that Ronda Rousey is showing in the bantamweight division of the UFC at the moment deserves some historical context. With her latest victory at UFC 184 over Cat Zingano—a submission win in just 14 seconds—the UFC has as close as it will ever get to a 100-point game from Wilt Chamberlain or a 56-game hitting streak from Joe DiMaggio.
It has taken Rousey just one minute and 36 seconds in total to win her last three fights. She is a perfect 11-0. She doesn’t win so much as she destroys, tearing through her opponents like a tornado ripping through a small town.
The questions, then, are: Who will challenge this force of nature next, and will they stand a chance? The former I’ll speculate on below. The latter seems fairly unlikely at this point, barring one potential matchup.
Holly Holm
Stylistically, this fight would make sense. Rousey is one of the most dangerous grapplers in the world, man or woman, whereas Holly Holm is a boxer. Holm is 8-0 and just won her debut UFC match against Raquel Pennington, so she could be up next for Rousey.
And the champion seems keen on that potential matchup.
“I was really impressed with Holly Holm,” Rousey told Brett Okamoto of ESP.com. “She is a world champion boxer, and I want to test myself against that caliber of striking.”
Of course, it hardly seems fair to throw Holm to the proverbial wolves after just one UFC fight, especially after a split decision. Had Holm dominated her match against Pennington a bit more, she might warrant consideration against Rousey.
Yes, the stylistic differences would be fun to watch. But for now, it seems likely Holm would be dramatically overmatched against Rousey.
Bethe Correia or Jessica Eye
The fact that Rousey also called out Bethe Correia, who is 9-0, makes the Brazilian a likely opponent as well, though more than a few folks would love to see Jessica Eye get a shot.
And Damon Martin of Fox Sports thinks the pair should decide who gets that shot in the Octagon:
Like Holm, it’s questionable whether either of these fighters is really prepared or even qualified at this point to take on Rousey; however, pitting them against each other and allowing the winner to face Rousey would be fascinating.
Cris “Cyborg” Justino
Let’s be honest: This is the fight we all want.
This is the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao superfight that fans of MMA desperately want. It could be a complicated process to make it happen, of course—Justino will likely have to concede to fight at bantamweight—but Rousey will never fully secure her legacy, dominant as she’s been, unless she beats Cyborg.
Jonathan Snowden of Bleacher Report thinks it is the perfect matchup:
Rousey and Cyborg have seemingly been on a collision course for years. One is a grappler, the other a striker. One an American, the other a Brazilian. One a bantamweight, the other a featherweight.
It’s these differences that make them such a compelling potential matchup. This is why mixed martial arts was created. This is a battle of styles and a battle of wills. It’s art versus art and athlete versus athlete, all in a single bout.
It is, in a word, epic.
It certainly would be. It would be a huge card for the UFC and the opportunity for both Rousey and Justino to prove once and for all who is the most dominant female fighter in the world. It would be a compelling tactical matchup.
And it probably won’t happen just yet.
But we can dream, folks, and at some point this fight will go down. If Mayweather and Pacquiao can figure it out, so can this pair. And when they do, well, there won’t be any fighting fans in the world who will want to miss that bout.
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