Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm Now Headlines Nov. 14’s UFC 193 From Australia

UFC president Dana White appeared on ESPN’s Sportscenter tonight (Fri., August 28, 2015) to reveal that Ronda Rousey will face Holly Holm at UFC 193 on November 14, 2015 from Melbourne, Australia’s Etihad Stadium instead of the previously scheduled date at January 2’s UFC 195 from Las Vegas:

“”We’re announcing that Ronda Rousey will fight Holly Holm on November 14; she is the main event at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, and she will break the all-time attendance record for mixed martial arts.””

With Rousey the company’s biggest star, they understandably wanted to showcase her in the expanding Australian market. The stadium event’s original headliner was a welterweight title showdown between Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit, but when ‘Ruthless’ went down with a thumb injury, White noted the opportunity to book Rousey in the headliner of their first stadium show in front of a growing fanbase could not be passed up:

“”Yeah, so obviously Ronda Rousey was huge for us down in Brazil. She was well received there. It was just a phenomenal event; did very well on pay-per-view in the United States and she’s obviously a huge superstar for us. And you know, Australia’s an important market for us, so we’re gonna bring her out there. Our first real big stadium show, and you know, we know that she’ll break the record out there.”

White may have told fans on Sportscenter that Rousey would break the UFC all-time attendance record in Australia, but the question of her match-up with Holm actually being a good fight was brought up after Rousey’s last four bouts totaled 130 seconds.

As for “The Preacher’s Daughter,” White assured viewers that while he couldn’t guarantee a lengthy bout because of Rousey’s lethal and evolving skillset, Holm is still a legitimate contender with a host of impressive boxing accolades to her name:

“Obviously, when we’re dealing with someone like Ronda Rousey, you’re dealing with a one-of-a-kind. I would love to assure everybody that it won’t be 15 seconds, but I can’t. But I can tell you this; Holly Holm was 2005 and 2006 Ring Magazine ‘Fighter of the Year,’ she was a pro boxer, she held every title that you could hold in the welterweight division. She had the WBF, the WBC, the WBA, the IBA world welterweight championship, and obviously she beat all the big names in women’s boxing, and if she wins the UFC title, she’ll be the only person to ever hold a world boxing title and the world UFC title.

“She is a legit contender. She retired from boxing 33-2 and she is undefeated in mixed martial arts right now, she is 9-0.”

There’s no doubt that Holm’s boxing is the most accomplished striker in the UFC female arena, but that was never in question. The consensus will be that this fight will come down to Holm’s ability to deal with Rousey’s world-class level judo skills, and that’s a tall, tall order to be certain.

Are you buying Holm as a legit threat in Melbourne, or is she just another obstacle for Rousey to roll through on the way to her next record?