UFC 175 was stacked the minute UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman was placed on the card opposite challenger Lyoto Machida. It now has been bolstered even more.
Dana White announced via Twitter Friday night that UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will fill in the co-main event slot to defend her belt against top contender Alexis Davis.
Rousey is undefeated at 9-0 and holds a 3-0 record in the UFC. She has defended her belt in all three UFC bouts, tapping out Liz Carmouche and Miesha Tate with her patented armbar, while putting away Sara McMann in her most recent scrap with strikes.
The armbar queen is also the former Strikeforce champion, where she beat Tate for the title and defended it once against Sarah Kaufman before migrating over to her current home.
Ronda Rousey vs Alexis Davis Saturday, July 5th for the women’s bantamweight title in Las Vegas for International Fight Week!!!
— Dana White (@danawhite) April 12, 2014
As for Davis, the Canadian is also 3-0 in the UFC, which is a large reason why she earned the title shot. She debuted by decisioning Rosi Sexton, followed that up with a domination over Carmouche and took a close bout in her most recent fight against Jessica Eye.
There was much speculation that Rousey's next fight would be against now-movie star Gina Carano, but that falls by by the wayside for now.
In looking at this matchup, this could be an interesting little bout. Rousey is known for her wicked grappling that has resulted in eight armbars in her pro career. Davis is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who prefers to grapple herself, so this could be a highly technical mat war.
However, Rousey used her hands in her last fight against McMann, showing that she may be more comfortable on the feet these days. She should be wary, though, as Davis is a good kicker with underrated striking of her own.
With 15 submission wins between them, there is no way that a ground battle could be anything but marvelous. Time will tell how this fight goes down, though, as game-planning and actual cage work will show us how each lady would like to fight.
With two titles on the line at UFC 175 now, it has become a must-buy for any fan of MMA.
