Ronda Rousey Sidesteps UFC 197 For Showbiz Gigs, As Holly Holm Tackles Miesha Tate
Against initial speculation that Ronda Rousey would want to expeditiously recover the bantamweight belt she gave up to Holly Holm at U.F.C. 193 in Melbourne, Australia, other factors have come up to negate a rematch happening soon. Holm has been booked to tackle Miesha Tate on March 5, 2016, at U.F.C. 197, while Ronda has gone into guest hosting Saturday Night Live on January 23, and taking the lead role in a remake of Road House, to be followed by another movie project.
Rather than wait around for Rousey, 28, to be back in fighting form after the devastating head-kick knockout that cost her the title in Melbourne, Holm, 34, accepted the January 20 official matchup against Tate, 29, for U.F.C. 197. The move also addressed Tate’s complaint that her victory over Jessica Eye in July technically earned her the title shot against Ronda Rousey at U.F.C. 193, for which Holm got slotted instead.
Joining the conversation, U.F.C. President Dana White explained that the Holm-Tate matchup was prompted by Ronda’s own scheduling priorities. According to Yahoo! Sports, White pointed to Rousey’s participation in a remake of the film Road House that had been paused to accommodate her other commitments, resulting in a time crunch buildup. To clear the backlog for her, White had to push back her return to the cage.
“The way I look at this one is, Ronda has worked her ass off for us for the last three years. She’s been fighting, promoting and building the sport. If anyone deserves the time off, it’s her. The night (of U.F.C. 193), Holly said she’d do the rematch and that Ronda deserved it and everything else. So we were holding it for her if she wanted to do it.”
White described as “unbelievable” what Rousey has done in the last three years, “above and beyond” what anyone has accomplished for U.F.C. She never said “no” to anything, and even took over responsibilities somebody else was supposed to have, White explained.
“So when she tells me she wants more time, you know what? She’s got it.”
According to FanSided, Ronda mentioned her U.F.C. 193 defeat at the beginning of her monologue for Saturday Night Live on January 23, when she congratulated Holm. Putting to rest speculation on how Rousey would address the loss on national television, she shared these thoughts.
“It’s also the first time talking to my fans since I lost to Holly Holm in November, which by the way was a fight that Holly deserved to win. And I just want to take a minute to sincerely congratulate her.”
Ronda Rousey ribbed her audience for showing up while Winter Storm Jonas put the rest of New York on almost complete shutdown under two-feet of snow. She pointed out that Saturday Night Live was literally the only show in town because Broadway, movie theaters, and all the bars were closed.
According to International Business Times, Holm reportedly made an estimated $300,000 in revenues from her fight with Ronda, who netted close to $5 million in a prior bout. U.F.C. 193 garnered in excess of one million pay-per-view buys, the second-most profitable P.P.V. performance in the company’s history. Though a Holm-Rousey rematch has the potential of earning twice as many P.P.V.’s, Rousey’s movie schedule prevents her from getting back into the octagon until late 2016.
The movie, which became a breakout hit and has attained cult status today, is considered a perfect fit for Ronda Rousey, who has a penchant for standing out in her chosen genre.
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