Ronda Rousey will make her return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship against women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 on December 30, UFC President Dana White announced Wednesday, per MMA Fighting:
Rowdy hasn’t fought since suffering her first professional defeat to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November 2015.
FloSports’ Jeremy Botter reported a long-awaited duel between Rousey and Cris “Cyborg” Santos is next on the agenda—provided the former bantamweight champion can defeat the woman who now holds her belt:
It will have been more than 12 months in December since one of the biggest names in mixed martial arts last graced the Octagon, but that hasn’t prevented the 29-year-old from getting an instant shot at her old belt upon her return.
MMA Fighting reporter Ariel Helwani previously suggested UFC 207 would be the likely comeback date for Rousey, who has still gone past the first round in just two of her 13 professional fights:
This match will mark Nunes’ first defense of the women’s bantamweight crown since she defeated previous titleholder Miesha Tate via a first-round rear-naked choke at UFC 200 in July.
The 28-year-old recently spoke to Brazilian outlet Combate (h/t MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz) regarding who she’d like to fight if given the choice, and Nunes didn’t mince her words when sending out an invitation to Rousey:
I don’t know anything yet, I’m waiting for the call. It’s highly likely, right? Those girls are crazy. Juliana Pena says I’m running from her, Valentina Shevchenko also said I’m running from her, and now she’s saying Juliana Pena is running from her, too. I don’t like to play games.
If they ask me who I want to fight, I’m going to say I want to fight Ronda. I’m not running from anyone, I’m the champion and I can choose who I’m going to fight. I will choose what’s best for me and Ronda would be ‘the’ main fight, that’s why it has to be against her, it has to be with Ronda.
Bleacher Report’s Patrick Wyman responded to Wednesday’s announcement with a question of which woman will steal the tactical advantage in their December meeting:
Meanwhile, Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting teased the prospect of seeing Rowdy fight before the year is out, while Conor McGregor is poised to fight Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in November, and Georges St-Pierre is said to be aiming for a UFC comeback of his own:
It was rumoured MMA veteran Cyborg might finally get her opportunity to fight Rousey for her comeback bout, but after speculation of a clash with Nunes surfaced, the Brazilian shared her opinion on not getting the bout sooner.
Cyborg posted a lengthy explanation to her official Facebook page regarding why her highly anticipated match against Rousey “might never happen,” dubbing it ridiculous the American gets a UFC title fight after so long out:
It’s also a bold move from Rousey to accept Nunes’ challenge for her first fight back in the Octagon in more than a year, and this will be the fans’ first chance to see how she’s recovering from that shocking loss to Holm last year.
Nunes will be the first fighter to take The Arm Collector on since that disappointment, and the December showdown will decide if Rousey has lost her touch, or if she’s a fiercer contender than ever before.
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