Latest Ronda Rousey News: Ex-Champ Nixes Fight As UFC 200; Wants More Time Away From Octagon
News that Ronda Rousey isn't ready to fight anytime soon is causing a stir among her legion of UFC fans who have been anticipating her comeback.
UFC President Dana White has confirmed that the former women's bantamweight champion isn't ready to trade blows just yet, and wants to spend more time away from the octagon, according to Yahoo! News.
This means that the MMA superstar won't be able to fight at UFC 200 in July. She was set to have a rematch with reigning champ Holy Holm.
White explained that the ex-champ will be staring in the remake of "Roadhouse" whose filming has reportedly been delayed.
"The filming of the movie got pushed back," White said. "She could do both, but the question is, should she do both?"
"She could do both, but why should she?" the UFC executive continued. "The filming is in a time frame where she'd finish before 200, but it would be cutting it too close."
White also came to his ward's defense, saying that she has worked very hard for the sport, perhaps more than any other fighter in the league.
"The way I look at this one is, Ronda has worked her ass off for us for the last three years," he pointed out. "She's been fighting, promoting and building the sport. If anyone deserves the time off, it's her.
When Ronda Rousey broke the news that she still wasn't prepared to fight after her shocking loss to Holm last Nov. 14, White immediately agreed to allow Holm to make a title defense.
The reigning champion will defend her belt against MIesha Tate at UFC 197 on Mar. 5.
The only concern among top UFC execs is that if Tate beats Holm, the Rousey-Holm encounter runs the risk of being "worth far less."
In the meantime, Ronda Rousey seems to be enjoying the time off, as news broke out that her fight at UFC 200 has been called off, which can be gleaned from the leaked images of her Sports Illustrated photo shoot wherein she was photographed wearing only body paint, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
In fact, the sports magazine owned up to the photos, and confirmed that the former champion will be "join an elite club of body-painted swimsuit models in the 2016 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue."
In the leaked images, Rousey was painted with a classic leopard swimsuit by Australian swimwear brand "We Are Handsome."
Founder Jeremy Somers revealed that sales of "The Fighter" Scoop one-piece worn by the ex-champ had spiked by 300 per cent as soon as the images were leaked online.
Do you think that Ronda Rousey is still interested to fight with these latest news reports?