Coach: I don’t see [a Rousey return] in July at this point

Fans and the UFC were hopeful that a Ronda Rousey versus Holly Holm rematch would take place at UFC 200 in July, but according to her head coach, that is likely too soon:

“I don’t see it in July at this point,” Edmond Tarverdyan, Rousey’s longtime trainer, told ESPN.com on Tuesday night, before another interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto on Wednesday. “Ronda did three fights last year. I think she deserves time off. That’s what [UFC president] Dana [White] said, too. So we’ve spoke about that. You know Dana judges things very fairly, and he completely understood.”

Tarverdyan said he told White that Rousey would need four months to prepare for her next fight after she finishes filming the movie “Road House” this spring. He has been working with her recently so that she stays in shape for the fighting scenes in the movie, but not at a level that would prepare her to fight again soon, and he said he thinks Rousey needs to rest her body to preserve her long-term health.

“If you watch her career, she was fighting back-to-back,” he said. “Even her amateur fights, she took a lot of fights back-to-back. Of course, she got [quick] finishes, but it’s not only about the ring time, it’s about the training. She’s trained very hard to give it 100 percent every day, so you know, that’s hard for the body. Ronda has been through a lot. She’s had knee surgeries … and we don’t want to end up with the same thing, having another knee surgery, so we need to relax a little bit, take our time and get her in better shape slowly and mentally and physically.”

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