UFC 190 should be titled “The Ronda Rousey Show,” as much of the promotion leading into this weekend’s event has provided multiple looks at the reigning women’s bantamweight champion. Rousey has grown to become one of the most important fighters on the UFC roster—if not the biggest star the organization has to offer.
However, with each fight that draws closer, one must wonder how many more times we will see this former Olympian in the cage. At this rate, the MMA community can only hope she will continue competing as frequently as her schedule allows.
Rousey is set to face off against the No. 5 women’s bantamweight competitor in Bethe Correia Saturday night. She’s traveling into the undefeated Brazilian’s home country, but even still, Rousey doesn’t seem to be as much of a villain as other foreign fighters have been in the past.
Correia represents a dwindling field of challengers within the women’s 135-pound group. Looking at the current Top 10 as ranked by the UFC, Rousey has already defeated six of those individuals. Correia has the potential to be the seventh fighter on that list.
Unfortunately, the current direction of the division doesn’t seem welcoming to new challengers, as Miesha Tate continues to remain relevant within the group. Her recent victory over Jessica Eye has granted her the listing as the No. 1 contender to the winner of UFC 190’s main event.
However, the question is whether or not a third bout between Rousey and Tate would garner fan attention. Rousey, on the other hand, is welcoming of the opportunity.
“If she’s the best competitor and she’s who the fans want to see then, yeah, I’m extremely interested in doing it,” Rousey said during a UFC 190 media call, as reported by MMA Junkie.
If Rousey gets by both Correia and Tate, what is left for the 28-year old champion? Multiple opportunities are presenting themselves to Rousey outside of MMA.
She has recently been added to the upcoming action movie Mile 22 to go along with her other ongoing projects. And as her brand continues to expand into Hollywood, more lucrative opportunities will fall at her feet. If the current slate of contenders doesn’t feature any interesting names, few would fault Rousey at taking advantage of other projects that will pull her away from fighting.
Rousey herself recognizes the need for other fighters to rise up and make these fights compelling for fans.
"I need these other girls. It's not like I could do this by myself. I need a dancing partner," Rousey said, per Damon Martin of Fox Sports. "The analogy I use a lot is these girls are like plants—sometimes you can grow a crop and harvest it year after year like Miesha and sometimes you harvest it once and it will never grow back, like I don't think Bethe will ever come back after this.”
One name that is sitting on the list is Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino. The former Strikeforce and current Invicta champion is a longtime rival of Rousey. Even though they’ve never fought, the two women have verbally sparred back and forth for years. Unfortunately, the sticking point in a match between these two women surrounds the weight class in which they would meet.
As reported by Sherdog's Tristen Critchfield in March, the UFC has signed Justino to a deal with the stipulation that she must compete at 135 pounds while in Invicta before she can be considered an option to fight Rousey. During her last appearance in the cage, she defeated Faith Van Duin in 45 seconds to retain her Invicta featherweight title.
As of this moment, there isn’t an official word as to when or if Justino will attempt to make the 135-pound limit to bring this dream fight with Rousey one step closer. When looking at the current list of potential opponents for Rousey’s future, Justino should be the top candidate for big box-office numbers.
The current roster of UFC fighters is suffering a dearth of big names that can attract attention across all spectrums of entertainment. Rousey is perhaps the most important name on the company payroll. Unfortunately, a lack of worthy opponents and growing outside opportunities make it more and more realistic to expect her to walk away from the sport sooner than later.
Hopefully Rousey will find a way to keep MMA a part of her life for as long as possible.
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