Report: Ronda Rousey will miss UFC 205, return in early 2017

Former women’s Bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey, appears to be getting back into cage condition, but it could be more long-term maintenance than actual preparation for a return to the Octagon sometime soon.

That’s according to mixed martial arts (MMA) insider Dave Meltzer, who recently spilled the beans on a recent episode of “Submission Radio.”

“I talked to one of her friends a couple of weeks ago,” he said. “And the impression that I got — you know, we don’t usually talk Ronda Rousey business — but I just go, ‘what’s your thoughts? Is Ronda gonna be ready to fight at the garden?’ And they said, ‘no, probably early 2017.’ So that was the impression I was given two weeks ago.”

Most fight fans expected Rousey to return at UFC 205 (details here), the promotion’s first ever — and monumental — pay-per-view (PPV) event at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y., on Nov. 12, 2015. “Rowdy” was very involved in the process to get the sport legalized in “The Empire State” and it seemed like a logical date and time to return to the Octagon after a year-long layoff.

However, minor knee surgery — and other obligations — will seemingly ensure that Rousey does not compete at all in 2016. That’s quite a change for a box office draw who would typically average two appearances each year.

Sorry, Amanda.

Former women’s Bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey, appears to be getting back into cage condition, but it could be more long-term maintenance than actual preparation for a return to the Octagon sometime soon.

That’s according to mixed martial arts (MMA) insider Dave Meltzer, who recently spilled the beans on a recent episode of “Submission Radio.”

“I talked to one of her friends a couple of weeks ago,” he said. “And the impression that I got — you know, we don’t usually talk Ronda Rousey business — but I just go, ‘what’s your thoughts? Is Ronda gonna be ready to fight at the garden?’ And they said, ‘no, probably early 2017.’ So that was the impression I was given two weeks ago.”

Most fight fans expected Rousey to return at UFC 205 (details here), the promotion’s first ever — and monumental — pay-per-view (PPV) event at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y., on Nov. 12, 2015. “Rowdy” was very involved in the process to get the sport legalized in “The Empire State” and it seemed like a logical date and time to return to the Octagon after a year-long layoff.

However, minor knee surgery — and other obligations — will seemingly ensure that Rousey does not compete at all in 2016. That’s quite a change for a box office draw who would typically average two appearances each year.

Sorry, Amanda.