Ronda Rousey versus Cris Cyborg could possibly be closer than ever before after years and years of teasing the monster match up that all mixed martial arts (MMA) fans want to watch. In fact, company president Dana White recently insisted that Rousey “absolutely, positively” wanted to fight the ferocious Brazilian. Cyborg even took to Twitter to address these rumors, calling out “Rowdy” for a Superbowl weekend showdown.
#Superbowl weekend @RondaRousey or do you need more time to make your bed? pic.twitter.com/dAaJHpZoj1
— Cris Cyborg (@criscyborg) September 27, 2016
However, White announced yesterday that Rousey will be returning to the Octagon at UFC 207, which takes place inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Dec. 30, 2016, to fight women’s Bantamweight champion, Amanda Nunes. As much as all fight fans would love to see Rousey vs. Cyborg, it will be good for “Rowdy” to fight Nunes first. She doesn’t need to fight the legend Cyborg in her first fight back, especially since she’ll be going up in weight to do so (140-pound Catchweight more than likely). White had some interesting things to say about this situation on the show “Speak For Yourself” on FOX Sports 1.
“Everybody wants it right here right now, it doesn’t happen that way,” he said. “I promise you this, Ronda has to come in and fight on December 30th, Ronda has to win. The girl (Amanda Nunes) she is fighting is no pushover, she’s nasty and tough and Ronda has a fight on her hands there. She wins that fight, her and Cris Cyborg are eventually going to fight.”
The risk for Rousey outweighs her reward. If she were to lose to Cyborg at this particular time, her career is pretty much done. She would have had a hard time trying to get back in contention to challenge for the title. Based off of her last loss, she might have seriously considered retirement if she lost to Cyborg in her first fight back. In fact, Cyborg even feels that if Rousey loses to Nunes, she will retire from the sport.
If Ronda Rousey retires after losing to Amanda Nunes @TheHerd her insecurities robbed the fans the greatest fight of all time
— Cris Cyborg (@criscyborg) October 12, 2016
“Ronda wants [to fight Cyborg],” White continued to tell Whitlock. “It will be the biggest pay-per-view in UFC history. I don’t know if it will happen [right away if she defeats Nunes] — we’ll see what happens. This thing has to play out first.”
Indeed, the smartest route for her and UFC is the title bout against Nunes. Re-gaining the title and then fighting Cyborg would be a dream come true for UFC and its fans, giving her the opportunity to get back “on top” of the fight game and restoring her shattered confidence.
Easier said than done, though.