It seems like fate that Ronda Rousey and Sara McMann will eventually fight each other.
However, McMann doesn’t want it to be her first fight in the UFC and acknowledges that the match wouldn’t be right without the proper build.
Although the multi-time wrestling medalist is only six fights into her MMA career, she’s defeated worthy competition like top-ranked Shayna Baszler and experienced Japanese veteran Hitomi Akano.
However, during an interview with AXS TV’s Inside MMA (via MMA Mania), McMann recognized that it may be best to first raise her own profile a bit higher:
I think that they planned on having things follow the same route that we were gonna follow with Strikeforce. But, from what I understand, there needs to be a proper build-up to a fight like that. People don’t really know me that well. They know her. So, it just doesn’t make sense, really, to have it without a strong following for me, too.
Unlike Rousey, McMann never had a chance to fight in Strikeforce. She came into the promotion for the Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir card before the company had its final two 2012 events completely shut down.
Nonetheless, she’ll be heading to the UFC once her contract is settled.
From a matchmaking standpoint, Rousey vs. McMann should seem like an attractive prospect, especially if both opponents remain undefeated during their initial UFC runs.
In a nutshell, they’re mirror images of each other.
Both women are multi-medalists who have gone unbeaten in MMA with specialized skills in grappling. McMann hit her career highlight with the 2004 Athens Games’ silver medal for freestyle wrestling, while Rousey later won the 2008 Bejing Games’ bronze medal for the United States in women’s judo.
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