Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm were originally slated to square off at UFC 195 in Las Vegas on Jan. 2, but their fight has been bumped up and shifted across the globe.
According to Fox Sports UFC on Twitter, UFC President Dana White announced late Friday night that Rousey and Holm will now headline UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 14.
White formally announced the change with a post on 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
Bleacher Report's Jonathan Snowden noted that the shift to a larger arena should be compelling for those watching from home:
I personally love fights in smaller and more intimate venues. Concerts too. But, on TV at least, will be awesome to see 70K watching MMA
— Jonathan Snowden (@JESnowden) August 29, 2015
Rousey announced the bout in its original form last Friday on ABC's Good Morning America, and she made sure to praise Holm's aptitude as a tactician.
"I'm going to be fighting Holly Holm, who is actually the most decorated striker we have in all of mixed martial arts," Rousey said on the program, according to Fox Sports' Damon Martin. "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."
Holm is 9-0 in her MMA career (2-0 in UFC fights), but Rousey is a huge favorite to retain the bantamweight title, according to OddsShark.
Of course, that's not surprising considering all but one of Rousey's career wins have come within one round. Back on Aug. 1, Rousey needed just 34 seconds to dispatch Bethe Correia at UFC 190. All told, Rousey has needed just 64 seconds to win her last three fights.
Holm's track record suggests she may fare better than Rousey's last three opponents, but that's not saying all that much.
Ultimately, the fight will be Rousey's to lose—regardless of the date and setting.
