Mark your calendars MMA fans, the Ronda Rousey vs Holly Holm bout has been rescheduled for UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia on Nov. 14.
The change was formally announced by UFC President Dana White via Twitter:
Rousey vs Holm is main event at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne. We'll break all-time attendance record for an MMA event. pic.twitter.com/i6p6hlQ2Ki
— Dana White (@danawhite) August 29, 2015
The bout was moved up from its original schedule at UFC 195 on Jan. 2, 2016 as it was originally announced last month. It follows Rousey's sixth consecutive successful title defense after making quick work of bitter rival Bethe Correia at UFC 190.
As MMAJunkie pointed out, the undefeated UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion "has dominated the competition" with only one - Miesha Tate - making it past the first round.
"In her last four fights, the 28-year-old Olympic bronze medallist has dominated the competition with quick wins over Sara McMann (66 seconds), Alexis Davis (16 seconds), Cat Zingano (14 seconds) and Correia (34 seconds)."
But Holly Holm is an accomplished fighter in her own right with a 9-0 MMA record.
"Holm is a decorated former boxing champion who transitioned to MMA full-time just recently under the guidance of coaches Greg Jackson and Mick Winkeljohn," Fox Sports said.
Ronda Rousey vs Holly Holm comes after the 33-year-old scored victories against Raquel Pennington in her debut earlier this year and Marion Reneau in July via split decision and unanimous decision, respectively.
"Although previously seen as the most likely opponent to defeat Rousey because of her proven striking skills, Holm has somewhat underwhelmed in the UFC because of the narrow victories despite her heavy-favorite statues," MMAJunkie said.
Still, Rousey recognized her upcoming opponent's ability and said she's her "biggest challenge" yet when the fight was first announced in "Good Morning America."
"I'm going to be fighting Holly Holm, who is actually the most decorated striker we have in all of mixed martial arts," she said in the program.
"Not the women's division, not the bantamweight division, like 19-time boxing world champion Holly Holm, was the Ring Magazine pound-for-pound female fighter of the year and definitely my biggest challenge to date so I'm super excited about it."
So far, only Ronda Rousey vs Holly Holm has been announced for UFC 193's fight card.
