Rousey interested in return for UFC’s New York debut
Ronda Rousey: “I would love to have the opportunity to fight here because this is another time I feel like I earned the right to fight here because I fought for it.”
Ronda Rousey has been out of action since her August 2015 loss to Holy Holm, but it has been rumored she is hopeful to return to the Octagon this fall. Rousey herself today hinted at a November return when talking about the UFC’s debut show scheduled for Madison Square Garden on November:
It would definitely be a cool thing to stick on your resume, but I wouldn’t do it for that reason, she said. It’s important because of the history. I want a tie to a historical place like this and I want to be remembered in a positive way. I’m from Los Angeles, where if something is 50 years old, they tear it down and build a new one. It’s not for my own vanity. It’s for a place in history. I don’t have a single picture of myself fighting in my house. I don’t have my belts, they’re hidden. I don’t like putting stuff out there, but I like fighting for a place in history.
As an Olympic medalist, Strikeforce champion, UFC champion, the first woman to appear in a UFC bout, first female MMA fighter to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated, first mixed martial artist to win an ESPY award, etc., Rousey has already made more history than most fighters could dream. But there’s always room for some more, including her place in an event in New York.
I would love to have the opportunity to fight here because this is another time I feel like I earned the right to fight here because I fought for it, she said. It wasn’t just something that fell on my plate; I was part of the process and I think that’s what a lot of the New York fighters will be feeling when they finally get to fight in their hometown.