Ronda Rousey Might Make Her Return In Madison Square Garden For UFC’s New York City Debut

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The when of Ronda Rousey returning to the Octagon has been known for a while – UFC execs have said she’d fight again in November of 2016. As for where … no one will say for sure, but it’s worth noting that the UFC’s New York debut in Madison Square Garden goes down in November too, lining up perfectly with Rousey’s schedule. And it sounds like Ronda wants it.

“I would love to have the opportunity to fight here,” she said in comments to the UFC’s Thomas Gerbasi. “I feel like I earned the right to fight here because I fought for it. It wasn’t just something that fell on my plate; I was part of the process and I think that’s what a lot of the New York fighters will be feeling when they finally get to fight in their hometown.”

Rousey has campaigned for MMA legalization in New York over the past two years, a process that finally came to fruition last month and was just signed into law this past week by governor Andrew Cuomo.

“It would definitely be a cool thing to stick on your resume,” she continued. “But I wouldn’t do it for that reason. It’s important because of the history. I want a tie to a historical place like [Madison Square Garden] and I want to be remembered in a positive way.”

“I’m from Los Angeles, where if something is 50 years old, they tear it down and build a new one. It’s not for my own vanity. It’s for a place in history. I don’t have a single picture of myself fighting in my house. I don’t have my belts, they’re hidden. I don’t like putting stuff out there, but I like fighting for a place in history.”

For the moment, though, the UFC is being tight lipped about who will end up on the card. When asked if Rousey would fight in New York, UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta demurred.

“It’s certainly a possibility,” Fertitta told MMA Fighting. “Nothing has been determined yet. We’ll kind of see what happens. I can tell you that whatever card we do bring, it will be massive. It’ll be a big card with our biggest names.”

(via UFC.com)

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