LOS ANGELES — Two years after making UFC history, Ronda Rousey leads another significant step for women’s MMA.
The women’s bantamweight champion is not only headlining another pay-per-view event, but UFC 184 will feature the first all-female main and co-main events Saturday night at the Staples Center. Rousey (10-0), who will defend her belt against No. 1 contender Cat Zingano (9-0), won the first women’s bout in the UFC on Feb. 23, 2013, at UFC 157 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
This came after UFC president Dana White famously and regrettably said he would never have women fighters in the UFC. Even some male fighters and their coaches expressed apprehension at women in the UFC, not to mention being the marquee matchup for a pay-per-view.
But here we are, with billboards of Rousey and Zingano, who fights out of Broomfield, plastered all over Southern California, and fellow bantamweights Holly Holm and Raquel Pennington in the co-main event. Granted, it took an injury to middleweight champion Chris Weidman, postponing his main-event bout with Vitor Belfort to elevate the women’s bouts. The UFC was confident in its female fighters and their division to carry the card, which includes nine other bouts — all featuring men.
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“I think it’s great that women being at the forefront of the MMA community is becoming normal,” said Rousey, 28, who is making her fifth title defense. “I think some people … were surprised, they didn’t even notice that women were the main and co-main (events), that we’ve had so many women in main events.
“Having women in the co-main is the next step. I love that it’s becoming so commonplace that it’s not a surprise anymore.”
Zingano, who noted the lack of billboards in Broomfield and was taken aback by seeing her likeness across Los Angeles, is thankful for the opportunity and the way UFC 184 is being approached.
“You can just feel the energy, this feminine energy, but it’s very masculine because of what we’re doing,” Zingano said. “I like how much it’s being supported. I like how seriously we’re all taking it. And we’ve put in so much work to be where we are to finally be showcased. I just think it’s cool.”
Rousey and Zingano not only go into the fight with unblemished records, but they are known for finishing fights.
Each is aware this will be the stiffest test of her career.
“I think because, in the grand scheme of things, we have a lot of the same experiences, both good and bad,” Zingano said. “We do have a very mutual circle of friends. And I think that heart and that intensity and all those attributes that we share are … it’s something to be respected. I feel like she knows how I feel to be at this level. I know how she feels to be at this level. And it’s just about that performance and putting on a good show.”
Rousey is a heavy favorite, with listing her at -760, with Zingano at +700.
