Who Is Ronda Rousey Going to Fight Next?

Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey defeated Bethe Correia in dominant fashion. Who is her next opponent? (Getty)

Ronda Rousey once again defended her UFC Womens Bantamweight Championship in dominant fashion, this time knocking out Bethe Correia in just 34 seconds at UFC 190.

Rousey (12-0) has easily defeated every challenger in the Bantamweight division, so who will she fight next? No fight has been set so far, but it seems most likely that she will defend the title next in a rematch against Miesha Tate.

Rousey defeated Tate at UFC 168 in December 2013 in her first title defense. She also fought Tate while they were in Strikeforce, in March 2012, where she won that organization’s Bantamweight title.

Tate has lasted longer than any of Rousey’s UFC opponents, taking the match 58 seconds into the third round, before Rousey locked in an arm bar to win a submission victory. The 28-year-old Tate has not lost since her fight against Rousey, and recently defeated Jessica Eye at UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barao.

“Miesha is such a durable human being. She will stand in front of you and take what you’ve got ’cause she was getting picked apart in that first round and she keeps coming forward to land what she needs to land or get you to the ground or do what she has to do to win and she did it again tonight,” Dana White told Fox Sports after Tate’s victory over Eye.

Miesha Tate, Miesha Tate Ronda Rousey

Tate could be Rousey’s next opponent. (Getty)

“She has worked her way back to Ronda Rousey.”

Rousey told MMA Junkie after Tate’s win, “I’m not surprised (she beat Eye). She’s a great competitor and athlete. I’ve always said there’s amazing things about her as a fighter.

“I need these other girls. It’s not like I can do this by myself; I need a dance partner, and the analogy I use a lot is these girls are like plants. Sometimes, you can grow a crop and you can harvest it year after year like Miesha, and sometimes you harvest it once and it will never grow back – like I don’t think Bethe will ever come back after this. But I think this might be the final season I can harvest the Tate crop.”

Many fans have hoped for a matchup of Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg, the dominant Invicta FC Featherweight World Champion. Cyborg fights at 145 pounds, while Rousey is in the 135-pound weight class, but there is the possibility of the two fighting in a 140-pound “catchweight” matchup.

Another name talked about as a possible opponent for Rousey is Holly Holm, a former professional boxer who is 9-0 in her MMA career, including two wins in the UFC. She entered the Octagon with a lot of hype, but has not lived up to it so far. Holm will likely need one or two dominant victories before she earns a fight with Rousey.

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