Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey has become one of UFC’s biggest stars whether you love or hate the badass blonde.
With Georges St. Pierre taking his indefinite leave from mixed martial arts and Anderson Silva with his unfortunate injury in UFC 168; Rousey is left to be the Queen of UFC until someone can dethrone her. Her latest fight demonstrated her desire to keep her title and showed that she is still becoming better after every fight. One of the main things that people have mentioned about the fight is that Miesha Tate was able to take Rousey into multiple rounds, which is something that hasn’t happened before. This is due to the fact that Rousey is not taking as many risks as before and is making sure to bring in a win by being careful but at the same time capitalizing on advantages. She still won the fight via arm bar, which is how every fight has ended with Rousey so far.
The next fight for Ronda Rousey will be fighting against Sara McMann in UFC 170.
Many people speculate that due to McMann’s background in wrestling, she is Rousey’s worst nightmare. The strong wrestling background could prove dangerous to Rousey because McMann has demonstrated fantastic control and top game. In her previous fights she showed that she could take her opponents wherever necessary. As far as takedowns and ground game goes it seems that Rousey may be at a disadvantage however she has shown incredible strength in her judo and her own control. On the standup front, Rousey has improved much compared to her previous first round victories, which we could clearly see from her fight with Tate.
Rousey has demonstrated the ability to adapt and become a better fighter from what we saw in UFC 168. She is learning to not take as many risks, be patient, soften an opponent up, and then go in for the finish. She is used to having only 5 minutes in order to win a fight and is only just now becoming used to having 25 minutes to win a fight. The fact that her fight with Tate went into the third round means she gained valuable experience in the octagon that will help her become an even better fighter.
UFC 170 will be on February 22, 2014 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Rousey will have until then to ready herself and develop whatever strategy will be necessary to defend her Bantamweight title against Sarah McMann. McMann, out of any other possible opponent, presents the biggest challenge for Rousey.
