The UFC Is Close To Signing All Three High-Profile Women’s Bantamweights – Will It Matter?

After undefeated UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey ran through her tenth straight opponent with a 16-second shellacking of Alexis Davis at UFC 175 last Saturday night (July 5, 2014), a bittersweet consensus ran through the MMA community.

On one hand, Rousey was defeating opponents in a fashion rarely equaled inside the Octagon. With four title fight finishes since making her way to the UFC in February of 2013, “Rowdy” has become a transcendent force in the sport.

On the other hand, however, her dominance begged the question as to whether or not her pace could be sustained. An Olympic medal-winning judoka, Rousey demolished her first eight opponents, including Miesha Tate and Liz Carmouche in the UFC, with her vaunted armbar.

But she’s also progressing a lot better in not a lot of time.

Her last two wins were a pair of knockouts that lasted a total of 82 seconds (her first two ever, mind you), proving that Rousey is an elite athlete who is constantly evolving and adapting to her opponents. That makes her incredibly difficult to stop; yet there is a trio of challengers who could possibly give Rousey some competition.

So recently, the UFC has been busy opening avenues for those top prospects to eventually get inside the cage with “Rowdy.” The promotion signed undefeated Legacy FC champion and boxing legend Holly Holm last week, and Dana White said he is headed to Los Angeles to get a deal done with former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Gina Carano.

Carano, who’s spent the last five years out of the cage acting, is still technically under contract with the UFC after they bought out Strikeforce in 2011. “Conviction” has teased a return to the cage, and although there are questions about her making weight and actually being competitive with Rousey, there’s no doubt it would be a huge spectacle of a fight.

The woman who took the belt from Carano, Invicta FC featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, has also been running her mouth about Rousey for quite some time now. After teasing a move down to bantamweight earlier this year, Justino made it official and will make her 135-pound debut at Invicta FC 10 this December (which airs on the UFC’s digital subscription network Fight Pass).

“Cyborg” is looking to fight at bantamweight again early next year. If she wins both fights and the cut goes well, it shouldn’t be long before we see her in the cage with Rousey. It’s a bout that has been talked about over and over again, and for good reason.

That’s because  “Cyborg” is the only woman on the face of the planet who could potentially beat Rousey. Her physical strength coupled with her Brazilian jiu-jitsu pedigree would help her deal with Rousey’s judo, and her top-level Muay Thai skills would undoubtedly give “Rowdy” the toughest striking test she’s ever faced.

Holm, although world-class on the feet, is in need of some serious cage time and grappling training before she faces Rousey. She’d have to get extremely lucky to win at this point.

Carano, for all her past glory, probably wouldn’t have much, if anything, for Rousey. Overcoming five years of ring rust to face the best fighter in the history of women’s MMA is just too daunting of a task.

But “Cyborg” can provide a challenge. Of course, given the recent increase of drug testing enforcement in the sport and Justino’s past failure, “Cyborg” would be in for a litany of exams before she was licensed by the NSAC.

It’s a fight that must be made, if nothing else but to give Rousey a real fight for once. Some like her fast wins, while others are growing weary of seeing the same old predictable outcome; it’s just a matter of preference.

The UFC is doing their best to inject some new life into the women’s bantamweight division; however, Rousey may just be evolving at a pace where she is simply unbeatable. Her upcoming knee surgery and broken hand may delay that for a short time, but she’ll be back to training with a laser-like focus much sooner than later.

The only one to test that theory will be “Cyborg,” but we’ll probably see the bulldozing titleholder destroy Carano and Holm before we get to see the long-awaited grudge match.

It could be right, it could be wrong, but it’s all that can be done to keep their shooting star of a queen active in the cage.

Either way, it should be a fun ride.

Photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie for USA TODAY Sports