Ronda Rousey's return to the UFC gets delayed again
It looks like Ronda Rousey's return to the UFC has been delayed once again.
UFC president Dana White revealed on Thursday that the former women's bantamweight champion recently had minor knee surgery to repair some lingering damage and that her date to return to action has been pushed back even further than originally expected.
"I'm hoping we're going to get Ronda back this year," White told "SportsCenter" on Thursday. "She actually, she just had surgery on her knee yesterday. Nothing serious, just get in there and scope it, clean it out a little bit."
White has spoken for several months about Rousey potentially returning to the Octagon in November, with many fans hoping she might headline the upcoming UFC 205 card on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Given this new timeline, it sounds like Rousey won't be fighting in New York and might not even fight in 2016.
Rousey hasn't stepped foot in the Octagon since November 2015 when she suffered a head kick knockout courtesy of Holly Holm at UFC 193 in Australia.
Since that time, Rousey has been focused on her acting career while just recently getting back in the gym to start work on her return to action.
Regardless of this delay, White says Rousey's first fight back will still be for the title against whomever holds the belt at that time. Rousey was originally expected to face Holm when she returned, but the belt changed hands and now belongs to Miesha Tate.
"If Miesha Tate's still the champion, she'll fight Miesha Tate. Whoever has the belt is who Ronda Rousey will fight," White said. "Injuries happen in this sport, somebody falls out and somebody else slides in, I'm not even saying Holly Holm couldn't be the champion by the time Ronda comes back.
"Whoever holds that belt when Ronda's ready."
