UFC 205 Card: Ronda Rousey Will Not Fight In New York City


The UFC 205 card is a bit more anticipated than normal because the promotion has never held a show in New York City before. Obviously, MMA fans are going to want to know which big-name fighters are going to be appearing that night. According to ESPN, Ronda Rousey will not be one of them.

At one point in time, Ronda Rousey was the biggest thing in the world of mixed martial arts. She was the face of UFC. Her dominance enabled Rousey to be able to easily generate interests on whatever card that she was on. Money was flying left and right.

Last November, all that came to a screeching halt. Ronda Rousey suffered her first loss in what many considered to be an upset. Holly Holm stunned the world and captured the UFC title by knocking out Rousey with a vicious kick. Things have not been the same since that night.

After a devastating loss, it is not unusual for MMA fighters to consider the possibility of retirement. It can be mentally damaging to train for several months without having your hand raised in the air as the final outcome. Ronda Rousey was so used to winning that the loss hit her even harder.

It got so bad that at some point in time, Ronda Rousey had suicidal thoughts after losing to Holly Holm, as reported by TMZ. Taking an extended vacation from UFC seemed like a good move because that will help Rousey regain her focus in life.

Throughout the entire absence of Ronda Rousey from UFC, Dana White has repeatedly stated that she will be making a comeback at some point in time. Since Rousey was a cash cow for the promotion, it behooves White to do everything in his power to see that it happens.

Holly Holm [Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images]
As a sign of how big the show at Madison Square Garden is, dozens of fighters have publicly campaigned for Dana White to put them on the UFC 205 card. White told the media today that he and his staff will start putting together the fight card later on this week.

Earlier in the year, Dana White stated that he expects Ronda Rousey to be back in the UFC ring before the end of 2016. If November 12 is too early, then there are also two shows available in December. The final show of the year is taking place in Las Vegas, and White likes stacking up that particular show.

The sale of UFC was officially closed this week, as reported by Forbes. The deal is for $4 billion, which makes it the single biggest transaction in professional sports. The new owners are fully aware that the promotion needs star power, like the kind that Ronda Rousey used to generate so seemingly easy, if they want to move it upward and forward.

Dana White [Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images]
As expected, Lorenzo Fertita stepped down this week as the CEO of UFC. Ari Emmanuel and Patrick Whitesell will be teaming up to take over his duties. Emmanuel and Whitesell will more than likely focus on the business side of things as opposed to the actual fighting side.

Dana White remains with UFC as the president. He will continue to be tasked with making decisions for the actual product. One of biggest jobs will be to figure out how to get Ronda Rousey, who wants to branch in the world of entertainment, back in the ring. White needs to see if Rousey can still be a draw for MMA.

Ronda Rousey will be back in the ring again some day. It just will not be on the UFC 205 card in the Big Apple.

[Photo by David Becker/Getty Images]

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