Can UFC 193 headliner Ronda Rousey set attendance record?

MELBOURNE, Australia — Ronda Rousey’s match-up with Holly Holm at UFC 193 tonight is set to break the all-time attendance record for a mixed martial arts event.

Yet while Rousey vs. Holm is on course to top the 55,724 mark set at Toronto’s Rogers Centre for Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields in 2011, it won’t break the attendance record for the Etihad Stadium in downtown Melbourne.

That honor does not even belong to a sporting event, but to the International Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses, held at the venue in October 2014 — which peaked at around 70,000.

“That is the most we have had for an event of any kind,” Paul Sergeant, CEO of the stadium, told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. “But this is right up there. Ronda’s star power has got the whole city buzzing.”

The Etihad is a multi-purpose indoor arena that has hosted a remarkable number of sports and events, including Australian football, rugby and soccer on a regular basis, plus motorcycle speedway, darts and even university exams.

UFC 193 is the first time the organization has been to Melbourne, which is widely regarded as Australia’s premier sports city. Fighting in a cage was banned in the state of Victoria until a new government ushered in a change in legislation this year.

“It is going to be a big crowd,” said Tom Wright, the UFC’s managing director for operation in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. “There are a lot of factors with that. Ronda is probably our biggest star globally. It is the first time we have come here. You have one chance to make a first impression and we want to do it with a big show.”

For more on UFC 193, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.