Ronda Rousey made a rare public appearance during the buildup to her fight with Amanda Nunes at the weigh-ins for UFC 207. (Photo : Getty Images/Michael Reaves)
Holly Holm's knock out of the once seemingly invincible "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey was one of the biggest shockers in UFC history. Now, Rousey is looking to bounce back after taking over a year off from the sport she once dominated. In her first fight since the loss against Holm back in the tail end 2015, "Rowdy" will face the current champion, Amanda Nunes.
Although Rousey has reappeared in the public eye these past months, she still remains vastly reclusive. The former UFC bantamweight titleholder has refused to take part in the majority of the promotional events leading up to her comeback fight, MMA Fighting reported. This is a complete 180 from her pre-fight attitude when she was still undefeated.
Some fight fans see this as Rousey focusing completely on her return to the Octagon but Nunes is not bothered. The UFC has used this to great effect though because the promotional materials for the upcoming UFC 207 make a heightened use of the mystery surrounding Rousey's return. This means that while the media tour will only feature Nunes while the promos are largely Rousey-centric.
It seems to work, as Dana White has said last Tuesday afternoon that there were only around 400 tickets remaining for UFC 207 that will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Dec. 30, 2016. While not close to the record-breaking attendance numbers posted by UFC 193 that featured Holm vs. Rousey, the gate is still impressive coming in at $4.5 million from approximately 19,000 attendees.
Nunes is not angry that the organization has put more effort into promoting her opposition than her, as champion. She understands that the reasoning behind this is that her challenger is guaranteed big business, Yahoo Sports reported. However, Dana White believes that a win for Nunes would thrust her directly into the spotlight of MMA.
"People know Ronda, people love Ronda, they want to talk about Ronda," the champion told Yahoo Sports. "If people know Ronda is going to fight, they're going to watch. So that's good for me, you know? Sell more pay-per-views," she added.
Watch highlights of Ronda Rousey's previous fights here:
