Why Rousey Should Get a Title Shot

At long last we no longer have to hear the question “When will Ronda return?” or “When is Ronda fighting again?” or “Will we ever see Ronda come back?” Its official the Rowdy One is back she will main event UFC 207. And she will challenge Amanda Nunes for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship. And of course because it’s the UFC doing anything people are pissed off. Cyborg is off ranting and Julian Pena is saying she will leave the UFC. You have a number of people saying it’s unfair. But here is the thing Rousey should get a title shot.

No Clear Cut Number 1 Contender- Since UFC 193 the women’s bantamweight title has moved around. Holm lost it to Tate who than lost to Nunes. Tate didn’t just lose but she was pretty much dominated by Nunes and actually lost in the first round while Ronda got to the second. So given Nunes is still champion its hard to give Tate another shot given she lost in her first defense. Holm than lost to Valentina Shevechenko. Shevchenko already has a loss to Nunes and her UFC record is 1-1. Juliana Pena claims she should be getting a title shot. Pena is 4-0 in the UFC except Pena has only beat one fighter that would be considered a contender that was Cat Zingano. It took her three rounds to get a decision. Rousey beat Zingano in fourteen seconds. This is not the welterweight division where a few clear cut challengers are in position to get a shot.

The Champion Wants This Fight- There has been a lot debate about how much power the champions should have when it comes to picking there next contender. Recently the UFC has given the champions a bit more leeway. Nunes had made it clear she wanted a fight with Ronda Rousey. Its A the biggest money fight of her career B the fight that generate the biggest amount of fame for her and C The biggest test in the division. Also often forgotten is the fact the UFC gave Holly Holm her title shot because Ronda asked to face her. Most thought Tate would get another shot but Ronda wanted to face Holm. Much like how it is now there was not a clear cut contender let the champion have some say.

We Have Forgotten How Good She Is- For nearly a year now we have seen the replay of that head kick over and over and over again. We have spent so much time hearing about how she was “exposed” people are ignoring how dominate she was. All 12 of her career wins were finishes. Jose Aldo only has a 61% Finish rate. Anderson Silva has a 71% rate. Ronda has 100% all about one of those was in the first round. And many of those were less than a minute. Styles make fights and a strong counter striker with good kicks able to keep range like Holm was a bad style match up for Rousey. But Werdum was a bad match for Fedor, Rampage for Liddell. It doesn’t mean they weren’t great.

It Will Sell- You can call it unfair you can hate it but star power matters. New Year’s Eve weekend is always huge for MMA. So the UFC is going to want to load that show with a big main event. Due to various circumstances such as Jon Jones failed drug test, UFC 205 being the New York City debut there are many big names out there. And sadly many “fans” start to cry about how “weak” cards are. Rousey returning in a title fight with the narrative of her trying to regain the title will be a huge selling point. Just like how people defend Bellator putting Kimbo and Shamrock in main events the UFC should be allowed to book Rousey.

She Can Beat Nunes- I’ve seen many including Nunes declare “She can just hit Ronda a few times and win.” Easier said than done. For one thing Nunes is not a counter striker with the name level of footwork and range kicks that Holm uses. She is more likely to throw a little wild and stand in front of her. Right away that could open up to Ronda biggest strengthen the clinch and Judo. While Nunes has a BJJ blackbelt and a brown belt in Judo we have seen Rousey beat great grapplers a number of times in her career. While many say Ronda “can’t take a punch” she has eaten some big shots and still come forward. All I’m saying is Nunes can’t afford to simply count on a few big punches and shutting her down.

Also add into fact Rousey will have a full year to improve in areas she might have lacked in. Tyron Woodley came a similar layoff time wise to win a world title. By all accounts Rousey has not simply been laying around she has been training and trying to heal up long nagging ingures. Its very possible we see a better version of Rousey.

We won’t know until December if Rousey can regain her world title. And if you want to try argue someone else should be getting a shot or that the UFC should have make her take another fight first. Make no mistake though her getting a title shot is fair and it’s not some robbery she is getting one.