UFC President Dana White appeared on ESPN’s “Beadle and Shelburne Show” on Sunday evening and dropped a bombshell regarding the highly-anticipated Octagon return of Ronda Rousey.
According to White, the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion who has been on the sidelines since losing the title to Holly Holm at UFC 193 last November in Australia, is “definitely part of the discussion” to fight on the UFC’s debut event at Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 12th.
Not only did he drop that bombshell, he also announced that Rousey will likely be challenging for the title in her first fight back.
“[Rousey] is definitely part of the discussion [to fight on Nov. 12 in New York] and she will fight whoever has that belt,” White said. “I think Miesha, she’s fighting at [UFC 200], she might fight again before that. She wants to fight. We’ll see what happens. Miesha has been the No. 2 baddest woman in the world for years. For her to stay active right now, makes sense.
White continued, “What’s cool about that 135-pound division is that everybody is fighting right now. The only one not fighting is Holly. Miesha, depending on how she fights Nunes — who is very, very tough — if anything crazy happens and she comes out of that fight with a quick win, 100 percent healthy, she could turn around and fight again and then fight Ronda.”
Regarding Holm, White reiterated his belief that she “went out like a gangster” against Tate at UFC 196.
“She hung in there [against Tate],” White said. “For people who know a lot about jiu-jitsu, she did everything right to defend that choke. Miesha just wasn’t letting go of that neck, man. [Holm] went out like a gangster.”
UFC 205 is scheduled for Saturday, November 12, 2016 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.