Mark your calendars, folks. Ronda Rousey will be back in the Octagon earlier than expected.
UFC president Dana White announced Friday that Rousey’s women’s bantamweight title fight against Holly Holm, originally scheduled for Jan. 2, now will headline UFC 193 on Nov. 14 at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
“Ronda Rousey was huge for us in Brazil,” White said Friday, referring to her UFC 190 win over Bethe Correia in Rio de Janeiro, via UFC.com. “She was well received there, and it was just a phenomenal event. It did very well on pay-per-view here in the United States, and she’s obviously a huge superstar for us.
“Australia’s an important market for us, so we’re gonna bring her out there in our first real big stadium show, and we know she’ll break the (all-time MMA attendance) record out there.”
Rousey announced last Friday she’d be fighting Holm, a 33-year-old former professional boxer, at UFC 195 in Las Vegas. But UFC men’s welterweight champion Robbie Lawler was forced to withdraw from his UFC 193 bout with Carlos Condit due to injury, leaving the door open for Rousey and Holm to slide into the main event.
Thumbnail photo via Jason Silva/USA TODAY Sports Images
