Sara McMann will be the next fighter to take on UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, and MMA followers think that the undefeated McMann will be a good match for the UFC’s newest villain.
Rousey had just three hours to enjoy her victory over bitter rival Miesha Tate at UFC 168 before she learned that Sara McMann would be her next challenger. Rousey had said she didn’t want a long wait for her next fight, and in the UFC 168 post-fight press conference UFC President Dana White complied, announcing the match for the main event of UFC 170 .
McMann could be a good match for Rousey. She stands at 7-0 and is coming off a first-round TKO victory over Sheila Gaff in April.
Cage Pages MMA writer Al Stover said he believed Sara McMann could provide a good test for Ronda Rousey.
Stover wrote:
“Although McMann may not be ready for a title shot in the eyes of some critics, I think the silver medalist will provide a good test for the ‘Rowdy’ one. We watched Rousey battle with good wrestlers like Tate and Liz Carmouche, but it will be interesting to see how she does against an Olympic champion. McMann could potentially match Rousey in strength and power.”
The UFC 170 bout will be the first since Ronda Rousey adopted her UFC villain act. After defeating Miesha Tate with an armbar submission, Rousey refused her opponent’s goodwill gesture of a handshake. The act earned a torrent of boos from the crowd, but some believe it was a calculated act by Rousey to sell herself as a heel.
Rousey says that her animosity toward Tate goes back to their filming of the UFC reality show The Ultimate Fighter earlier this year.
“I feel like the day that she formally apologizes to my coach Edmond (Tarverdyan) and Chris Beal and they accept that apology, then I will consider shaking your hand again,” Rousey said after UFC 168. “I said up there boos are not (more) important to me than my family. If I feel like you’ve done wrong against my family, you need to make that right before I can shake your hand. It means something to me, it’s not something I just throw out there.”
Ronda Rousey and Sara McMann will face off in UFC 170 on February 22, 2014.