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Late last night, the UFC announced two breaking news events regarding the monster of a card they have been assembling for UFC 193 in Melbourne this year.
Firstly, the bad news was that UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler had hurt is thumb and would require surgery. So the proposed headline act for the card had to be removed from his fight with the dangerous and exciting Carlos Condit.
As Melbourne had secured a ‘numbered’ UFC event – noting that the UFC also runs UFC Fight nights and UFC on FOX on free-to-air cable – there is the requirement that the event has top-class fighters. The intriguing thing about Lawler and Condit being pulled meant the big question of which weight division championship fight would we get to see.
When UFC President Dana White says that he sees Australia and New Zealand as a great market, he needs to back it up with fight scheduling – and did he ever. The most famous athlete on the UFC roster, Ronda Rousey, will be defending her title against Holly Holmes.
Rousey is a marketing dream and she will help to counter the public vitriol against her chosen sport. She is an Olympic medalist in Judo, she is articulate and as her sports illustrated swimsuit addition showed, she is very easy on the eye.
Her dominance in the sport has been compared to a young Mike Tyson, where her opponents feel they have had a victory if they survive more than a minute
Younger women see her as a role model and she is not afraid to take tough questions and answer them honestly. She has appeared on all major talk shows in the US and has done so with class and sass.
As for her opponent. Holy Holm is the most decorated striker in UFC history -with the exception of maybe Mark Hunt who is also on the card to repeat his heroics from Brisbane with arch rival Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva. An eight-time world boxing champion, Holm is expected to be Rousey’s toughest task to date.
Can she pull a Buster Douglas?
I was sceptical about the UFC putting 70,000 bums on seats at Etihad but now I’m convinced its a lock. As the list of local fighters on the card grows – names like Jake Matthews, Dan Kelly, Anthony Perosh – Australia’s sporting city will no doubt support the event.
Let’s get ready to rumble! Pick a fighter and place your bets with PlayUp for great odds. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.