BIGGER THAN CONOR? Is Ronda Rousey the biggest star in UFC history? Dana White says ‘It’s not even close’
As speculation continues to grow over a potential comeback UFC president says Ronda Rousey remains the biggest star in UFC history
CONOR McGregor may have been the star of the show at the UFC 205 press conference on Tuesday night, but even he might have to take second place in the pecking order when Ronda Rousey makes her return to the UFC.
One of the big watercooler topics among MMA fans is the question over who the biggest star in the UFC is today, with featherweight champion McGregor the biggest earner in the company, smashing box office and pay-per-view records left and right.
Ronda Rousey is a superstar, both inside and outside the Octagon
But at the height of her reign as the UFC women’s bantamweight champion, Rousey was arguably even bigger, crossing over into the mainstream in a way no other UFC athlete has achieved before or since.
And when asked if Rousey is the biggest star in UFC history, UFC president Dana White didn’t hesitate.
“By far. Not even close. By far the biggest star,” he told New York hip hop radio station Hot 97.
Dana White hailed Ronda Rousey as the UFC’s biggest starCredit: Getty Images
“Ronda Rousey is such a big star. When you go down to Brazil, they don’t care who you are. They want the Brazilian to whup your a**.
“When Ronda went down there, they cheered for Ronda over the Brazilian.
“(I’ve) Never seen that before in my life, and will probably never see it again.
“That’s how big Ronda Rousey is.”
Ronda Rousey was the crowd favourite in Brazil, despite taking on Brazil’s own Bethe Correia at UFC 190 in Rio
The conversation could have continued during Tuesday night’s UFC 205 press conference with a journalist asked White who would have headlined the Madison Square Garden event had Rousey been on the card alongside Conor McGregor.
White stopped, smiled and playfully shouted: “Sit down!”
Still No.1: Dana White says Ronda Rousey is the biggest star in the UFC
Rousey has been linked with a year’s end return at UFC 207 on December 30 in Las Vegas, and White said that the former women’s bantamweight champion has two big targets in her sights heading into her comeback.
Not only does Rousey want to step back into the Octagon and reclaim the bantamweight title, but she also wants a piece of Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino, the devastatingly powerful Brazilian featherweight whose well-documented battles with the scale came to the fore last week as she struggled to make 141lb for a catchweight bout in Brasilia.
Superfight option: Brazilian featherweight Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino has called for a superfight with Ronda RouseyCredit: Zuffa LLC
Rousey and Cyborg have been linked with a superfight for years, and White told New York hip hop radio station Hot 97 that the former champion is keen on making that superfight happen.
“Ronda wants to fight Cyborg,” he said.
“100%. She absolutely does.”
Ronda Rousey wants to be reunited with her old championship belt
But first on Rousey’s to-do list upon her return is the job of reclaiming the women’s bantamweight title, with Brazilian Amanda Nunes currently in possession of the women’s 135lb belt.
“She wants to get her title back, you know,” he continued, explaining that a title fight with Nunes would be anything but a cakewalk for the former Olympian.
“Amanda (Nunes), if you look at the fight she had with Miesha Tate, she broke Miesha Tate’s nose, bad.”
Rousey hasn’t competed since being knocked out in devastating fashion by a Holly Holm head kick at UFC 193 in Melbourne last November.
The kick heard around the world: Holly Holm’s stunning head-kick dethroned Ronda Rousey at UFC 193
And the former champion has stayed out of the public eye for almost a whole year as she took some time away from the sport.
But it seems she’s now ready to make her way back to the Octagon in a bid to win back her belt once again and become the first two-time women’s UFC world champion.
