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Neither Miehsa Tate nor Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino will enter the octagon opposite Ronda Rousey in the next women’s bantamweight championship bout.
Rousey (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) will bypass the two most discussed options to meet Holly Holm (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in the main event of UFC 195 on January 2, 2016 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. With her star forever rising, Rousey broke new ground for a UFC fight announcement and revealed the matchup live on “Good Morning America” this morning.
“She’s not the average chick I would fight,” Rousey said of Holm on the show. “She’s the best striker I’ve ever fought, and striking is something I learned much later in my career. I don’t ever expect fights to be easy and fast.”
Rousey’s last four fights have lasted a total a two minutes and 10 seconds with no one aside from the locally based Tate ever taking her out of the first round. Tate had worked her way back up the division’s ranks with a four-fight win streak following a UFC 168 loss to Rousey to become the anointed top contender.
Reports linked a trilogy bout between Rousey and Tate, who also fought in Strikeforce, to a December card at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium as support for a featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor. But the MGM managed to keep Aldo vs. McGregor, which is now scheduled for UFC 194 on Dec. 12.
The venue will get also get Rousey, albeit against an unforeseen opponent. The UFC signed Holm, who went 33-2 and won multiple times as a professional boxer, with visions of one day pairing her with Rousey.
The timeframe was considered distant, however, after Holm debuted with nondescript decision wins over Raquel Pennington and Marion Reneau. Rousey feels the time is right for a fresh opponent instead of a retread in Tate.
“Definitely the biggest challenge of my career,” Rousey said. “I’m super excited for it.”
Some fans clung to hope that the “Good Morning America” appearance would bring news of a deal between Rousey and Cyborg, the other top pound-for-pound ranked women’s fighter in the world. But the UFC has stayed steadfast in not booking Rousey vs. Cyborg at any weight other than 135 pounds.
Cyborg is currently the Invicta featherweight champion and has never fought lower than 145 pounds. UFC President Dana White recently predicted the matchup would smash pay-per-view records, but it’s uncertain if the 30-year-old Cyborg can physically make the weight. Rousey won’t entertain any discussion of a catchweight bout.
It was a major coo for Las Vegas and the MGM to get Rousey’s next fight. UFC 190, which featured Rousey knocking out Bethe Correia earlier this month, reportedly approached 1 million pay-per-view buys despite taking place in Rio de Janeiro.
The success disputed the notion that Rousey’s dominance cuts into her marketability of her fights, an idea she again bristled against in announcing UFC 195.
“I prepare for a five-round war every time I get in there,” Rousey said. “No one’s easy until you beat them. With Holly Holm, she’s prepared to go 12 boxing rounds.”
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.