Rousey’s impact
A victory by Ronda Rousey in her return to the octagon would be a major boon for UFC,
The narrative of the week is that Ronda Rousey is on a silent quest for redemption, fighting for her pride, redemption and her future as the face of women’s mixed martial arts.
Yet as UFC 207 looms, the modern reality for the Ultimate Fighting Championship is that she is battling for a whole lot more than that against bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at T-Mobile Arena on Friday.
With the company in a new era after its $4.2 billion sale to entertainment group WME-IMG over the summer, it can safely be said that the UFC’s immediate health can be read parallel to that of its biggest stars.
With Conor McGregor as a sole exception, they come no bigger than Rousey, whose combat skills and uncompromising personality made her one of the most recognizable faces in sports before her looks (temporarily) and unbeaten record (permanently) were damaged by a November 2015 knockout by Holly Holm.
A victory against Nunes, the Brazilian striker who defeated Holm’s conqueror, Miesha Tate, to claim the title in July, and the UFC could bank on a couple more lucrative pay-per-view blockbusters to swell the coffers in 2017.
“I don’t care about anything except winning this fight,” Rousey said in a fleeting appearance in a UFC promotional video. “I am not spending energy on anything else.”
A defeat, and things get considerably trickier for UFC President Dana White, who counts Rousey as a close friend and makes little attempt to disguise the fact that he wants her to do well.
The growing popularity of the UFC has allowed the likes of Rousey and McGregor to grow into household names, enjoying a level of fame few could have predicted for any combat sports exponent back in the early days as the company battled to gain mainstream acceptance.
However, while the sport has a large and passionate following, the mega-events that have the chance to surge well past a million payper-views require a celebrity element. McGregor brings it. Rousey does, too, as long as she gets back to her winning ways and carries on fighting.
White admitted that though he could envision a busy slate of title defenses for the former Olympic judo bronze medalist if she defeats Nunes, he has little idea what would happen if she lost.
The UFC has been forced to toe a problematic line between appeasing the growing ranks of combatants that form the bulk of the roster and granting special concessions to the elite group with the ability to generate serious fame and fortune.
That number will shrink considerably if Rousey loses, mainly because of doping indiscretions. Jon Jones is arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, but he’s serving a one-year ban for a doping violation. Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino might be the most dangerous female fighter on the planet, and a bout between her and Rousey would do huge numbers, but Justino also fell foul of the testers last week and faces an unclear future. The UFC’s attempts to bring in crossover appeal at UFC 200 backfired when former heavyweight champ and current WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar failed a drug test after his victory against Mark Hunt.
The organization does possess an incredible roster of talented athletes. Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt are outstanding performers who will compete for the men’s bantamweight title Friday, and Demetrious Johnson and brilliant wrestler Daniel Cormier also are near the top of the pound-forpound list. Yet none of them especially moves the needle outside of the MMA world.
Hopes were high that youngsters Sage Northcutt and Paige VanZant, a duo with model looks to match their fighting skills, could emerge strongly, but both were defeated before Christmas and sent tumbling down the pecking order.
White did not become a multimillionaire without learning to roll with the punches, but his life will get far easier in the short term if Rousey beats Nunes and reclaims the belt.
Rousey was clearly troubled by the loss to Holm and even admitted on television she had contemplated suicide. She is hungry to get the belt back and frankly seems not at ease, perhaps needing a comeback victory to get her mind straight.
She needs redemptive solace, but perhaps the UFC needs her, and needs her winning, even more.