Ronda Rousey will face Holly Holm at UFC 200 in one of the most anticipated rematches in UFC history. Dana White and the UFC are billing the card as the biggest in the company’s existence and if the first Rousey-Holm fight was an any indication it will be.
Industry estimates have the Rousey vs. Holm bantamweight title change doing between 1 million and 1.1 million buys, with most estimates closer to the higher figure. It is expected to be among the four biggest UFC pay-per-view events in its history. Before Rousey, no combat sports pay-per-view event headlined by a woman had ever topped 125,000 buys.
The show drew a UFC record of 56,214 fans to Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, breaking the company’s attendance record set at UFC 129 of 55,724 set by the Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields fight at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. – Luke Thomas
It’s unlikely that UFC 200 sets any attendance records, the new MGM-AEG Arena in Las Vegas will probably hold 20,000 fans, but the gate from the event should break the record set by Conor McGregor at UFC 194. It’s also within reason to expect 2.5+ mil PPV buys if the card features Rousey, McGregor & Jon Jones.
With all of that being said, would it really benefit the future of Ronda Rousey?
A win would put Ronda back in the driver’s seat in the world of women’s MMA but another devastating KO loss could mark the end to the once dominant Rousey. With such an all-or-nothing scenario, it’d be a good time for Ronda to contemplate life after the UFC.
The most logical landing-place for Rousey would be the WWE. Her background in MMA and her lifetime achievements would give her instant credibility. She’d immediately be catapulted into the Brock Lesnar realm of domination and super stardom. The key for her success in the WWE is timing. We’ve all seen Brock return to the ring after two losses in the octagon and everyone still considers him a beast. Unlike Brock, Ronda isn’t physically imposing so she needs some momentum heading into the world of pro wrestling. A loss to Holm would take away some of that luster.
If Ronda does choose to wait and test Holm it’d tie her up well past the July fight. After being KO’d in November Ronda said she could barely chew food and needed a lengthy recovery. If the same were to happen it’d keep her away from the WWE until 2017. Then there’s still the small hurdle of actually learning to wrestle.
Her judo background will make her a natural at submissions and throws but she”’ have to learn to properly take bumps. She wouldn’t dominate every second of every fight, so the nuances of building up an opponent is something she’d have to learn.
The WWE sends most of their new athletes to the Performance Center in Florida to sharpen their skills, it’d be hard to see Ronda having to come up thru NXT but it’d help her to train in the center for a while. The last thing the WWE wants is for Rousey to enter with a ton of hype and end up wrestling like Eva Marie.
Rousey turns 29 on February 1st, so there’s time for her to correctly learn the ways of pro wrestling but another tough fight against Holm sets her development back a year or more.
For that reason Rousey may want to consider making the jump to the WWE sooner than later. *Cough, cough* WrestleMania!
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