Ronda Rousey has been in the news a lot recently, but none of that has been for her fighting. Rousey hasn't been back in the octagon since she was knocked out by Holly Holm last November, her first loss ever in the UFC.
Rousey has made it clear since that fight that she will be back, but she just needs some time to gather herself. November has remained the target date for Rousey to have her next fight, which would give her a year off, and that has not changed. It is unknown at this point who and where Rousey will be fighting next, but that picture is starting to become clearer.
UFC president Dana White has now said Rousey's next fight will be for the belt - regardless of who holds it. Right now, the champion is Miesha Tate, but she is set to take on Amanda Nunes at UFC 200. Even if Tate wins that fight, White said she might be willing to fight again before a potential Rousey fight in November.
If Tate beats Nunes and decides to schedule another fight in between UFC 200 and the Rousey fight, that is mighty ambitious of her, but White is OK with it because of how open the women's bantamweight division currently is. The wiser decision for Tate, should she win, would be to use the four months off to prepare for her fight with Rousey, considering she has already lost to her twice.
As for where this potential showdown might take place, the hope for the UFC is that it will be at UFC 205, which is the New York debut at Madison Square Garden. The UFC wants to open up the sport in the greatest media market in the country with an extremely exciting card, and Rousey always draws a lot of attention. Because of that, Rousey has always been mentioned as a possible headliner once the ban on MMA was lifted in New York.
There had been some thought previously that Rousey's next fight would be a rematch with Holm to see who gets the next title shot. Holm feels she is entitled to another title fight over Rousey, so that would have made some sense, but White put that to bed, saying Rousey's next fight will be against whoever holds the belt at that time.
