beanlicker
11-09-2012, 10:24 PM
First UFC women's bout expected in 2013
By Dave Deibert, Postmedia NewsNovember 9, 2012 12:23 PM
The Ultimate Fighting Championship history book is being rewritten.
Ronda Rousey, the former Olympic judo medallist who over the last year as Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion burst into the spotlight as one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts, will debut with UFC in 2013.
In addition, Rousey shifting over from Strikeforce – which, like UFC, is owned by Zuffa LLC – coincides with Strikeforce, in January, running its last event before folding. The broadcast contract between Strikeforce and Showtime Sports expires in early-2013, at which time the promotion will be shuttered.
TMZ was first to report the stories. Postmedia News and other MMA outlets later confirmed the report.
Minutes after TMZ’s story appeared online, UFC president Dana White sent out a smiley-face tweet on his official Twitter account. Attempts to reach White for comment were unsuccessful.
Officials with UFC and Strikeforce declined comment. Showtime Sports officials did not respond to requests for comment.
White in recent months has made no secret about being a huge Rousey fan. The UFC boss has long questioned whether there was enough depth among the women to create an entire division, but he has shown increased interest in at least promoting interesting one-off women’s matches. White has also said on numerous occasions that if any woman was likely to lead the charge into UFC, it would be Rousey.
“I love Ronda Rousey, man. She’s as tough and nasty as it comes,” White said during a media scrum this year.
“She’s a bad-ass, man,” he said in another scrum.
Rousey, since making her pro debut in March 2011 after winning a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, has gone 6-0 in dynamic fashion. Her bouts have averaged just 77 seconds in length, each time ending with an armbar submission. In March, she defeated Miesha Tate to win the Strikeforce bantamweight women’s title and then defended it in August over B.C. native Sarah Kaufman.
With a combination of in-cage skills, physical beauty, quick wit and a sharp tongue, she’s also captured more media attention than almost any fighter in the sport. Rousey has appeared on the cover of ESPN The Magazine’s body issue, became the first mixed martial artist to have a feature devoted to her in Sports Illustrated, was a guest on Conan O’Brien’s talk show and guest hosted TMZ’s syndicated television show. This year, according to Google rankings, she’s the fourth-most searched-for MMA fighter behind only UFC superstars Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Chael Sonnen and Georges St-Pierre.
“She’s a rock star. She’s been fantastic. She’s been killing it for us,” White said this year.
It was not immediately clear if UFC would create a women’s division and proclaim Rousey the champion. When UFC merged with World Extreme Cagefighing in 2011, WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz were recognized as the first UFC title holders in those divisions.
Rousey is the current Strikeforce 135-pound champion. The featherweight women’s title has been vacant since Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos tested positive for steroids in December 2011.
A bout between Rousey and Santos has long been discussed as the dream fight within the women’s division. Other top names include Tate, Kaufman, 2004 Olympic wrestling silver medallist Sara McCann, former Strikeforce champ Marloes Coenen, Megumi Fuji, Zoila Gurgel, and Ontario native Alexis Davis.
Rousey’s signing overshadowed the long-expected demise of Strikeforce, which just two years ago was the chief rival of UFC.
Founded in the 1980s by Scott Coker as a kickboxing promotion out of San Jose, Calif., Strikeforce ran its first MMA card in 2006. That event opened up eyes within the business, as a card headlined by former UFC champion Frank Shamrock against icon Cesar Gracie drew 18,265 fans in San Jose, at the time the largest paid attendance in North America in the sport’s history.
As Strikeforce attempted to compete further with UFC, the company took on huge contracts of big-name fighters – most notably heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko in 2009. Despite airing on Showtime and CBS, Strikeforce struggled to generate enough revenue, and in March 2011 sold to Zuffa.
Zuffa continued to promote Strikeforce events, but as big-name fighters such as Nick Diaz, Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson and Cung Le moved over to UFC, it left only a handful of marketable competitors under the Strikeforce banner.
As part of the current deal with Showtime Sports, current Strikeforce stars such as Daniel Cormier, Gilbert Melendez and Rousey were unable to leave that promotion and sign with UFC, even though Zuffa owns both companies. But with that TV contract expiring next year, most of Strikeforce’s top stars are expected to be offered new deals with UFC.
The last Strikeforce event is scheduled for Jan. 12 in Oklahoma City. The announced bouts include lightweight champion Melendez against challenger Pat Healy, middleweight champ Luke Rockhold versus Lorenz Larkin, welterweight title holder Nate Marquardt against Tarec Saffiedine and heavyweight Grand Prix champ Cormier against Dion Staring.
Said Strikeforce CEO Coker: “Jan. 12 is going to be a really special night.”
By Dave Deibert, Postmedia NewsNovember 9, 2012 12:23 PM
The Ultimate Fighting Championship history book is being rewritten.
Ronda Rousey, the former Olympic judo medallist who over the last year as Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion burst into the spotlight as one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts, will debut with UFC in 2013.
In addition, Rousey shifting over from Strikeforce – which, like UFC, is owned by Zuffa LLC – coincides with Strikeforce, in January, running its last event before folding. The broadcast contract between Strikeforce and Showtime Sports expires in early-2013, at which time the promotion will be shuttered.
TMZ was first to report the stories. Postmedia News and other MMA outlets later confirmed the report.
Minutes after TMZ’s story appeared online, UFC president Dana White sent out a smiley-face tweet on his official Twitter account. Attempts to reach White for comment were unsuccessful.
Officials with UFC and Strikeforce declined comment. Showtime Sports officials did not respond to requests for comment.
White in recent months has made no secret about being a huge Rousey fan. The UFC boss has long questioned whether there was enough depth among the women to create an entire division, but he has shown increased interest in at least promoting interesting one-off women’s matches. White has also said on numerous occasions that if any woman was likely to lead the charge into UFC, it would be Rousey.
“I love Ronda Rousey, man. She’s as tough and nasty as it comes,” White said during a media scrum this year.
“She’s a bad-ass, man,” he said in another scrum.
Rousey, since making her pro debut in March 2011 after winning a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, has gone 6-0 in dynamic fashion. Her bouts have averaged just 77 seconds in length, each time ending with an armbar submission. In March, she defeated Miesha Tate to win the Strikeforce bantamweight women’s title and then defended it in August over B.C. native Sarah Kaufman.
With a combination of in-cage skills, physical beauty, quick wit and a sharp tongue, she’s also captured more media attention than almost any fighter in the sport. Rousey has appeared on the cover of ESPN The Magazine’s body issue, became the first mixed martial artist to have a feature devoted to her in Sports Illustrated, was a guest on Conan O’Brien’s talk show and guest hosted TMZ’s syndicated television show. This year, according to Google rankings, she’s the fourth-most searched-for MMA fighter behind only UFC superstars Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Chael Sonnen and Georges St-Pierre.
“She’s a rock star. She’s been fantastic. She’s been killing it for us,” White said this year.
It was not immediately clear if UFC would create a women’s division and proclaim Rousey the champion. When UFC merged with World Extreme Cagefighing in 2011, WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz were recognized as the first UFC title holders in those divisions.
Rousey is the current Strikeforce 135-pound champion. The featherweight women’s title has been vacant since Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos tested positive for steroids in December 2011.
A bout between Rousey and Santos has long been discussed as the dream fight within the women’s division. Other top names include Tate, Kaufman, 2004 Olympic wrestling silver medallist Sara McCann, former Strikeforce champ Marloes Coenen, Megumi Fuji, Zoila Gurgel, and Ontario native Alexis Davis.
Rousey’s signing overshadowed the long-expected demise of Strikeforce, which just two years ago was the chief rival of UFC.
Founded in the 1980s by Scott Coker as a kickboxing promotion out of San Jose, Calif., Strikeforce ran its first MMA card in 2006. That event opened up eyes within the business, as a card headlined by former UFC champion Frank Shamrock against icon Cesar Gracie drew 18,265 fans in San Jose, at the time the largest paid attendance in North America in the sport’s history.
As Strikeforce attempted to compete further with UFC, the company took on huge contracts of big-name fighters – most notably heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko in 2009. Despite airing on Showtime and CBS, Strikeforce struggled to generate enough revenue, and in March 2011 sold to Zuffa.
Zuffa continued to promote Strikeforce events, but as big-name fighters such as Nick Diaz, Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson and Cung Le moved over to UFC, it left only a handful of marketable competitors under the Strikeforce banner.
As part of the current deal with Showtime Sports, current Strikeforce stars such as Daniel Cormier, Gilbert Melendez and Rousey were unable to leave that promotion and sign with UFC, even though Zuffa owns both companies. But with that TV contract expiring next year, most of Strikeforce’s top stars are expected to be offered new deals with UFC.
The last Strikeforce event is scheduled for Jan. 12 in Oklahoma City. The announced bouts include lightweight champion Melendez against challenger Pat Healy, middleweight champ Luke Rockhold versus Lorenz Larkin, welterweight title holder Nate Marquardt against Tarec Saffiedine and heavyweight Grand Prix champ Cormier against Dion Staring.
Said Strikeforce CEO Coker: “Jan. 12 is going to be a really special night.”