The world of sports in general was shocked last night by the upset loss of Ronda Rousey to former boxing champion Holly Holm.
It leaves the state of the women’s MMA world in an interesting state as well, similar to when Gina Carano lost back on August 17th, 2009. Where does WMMA go from here?
Ronda’s Path
There’s no doubt that Rousey is the singular reason why WMMA is even in the UFC. She has a captivating persona, looks and the skills to conquer all challengers until last night.
The UFC would not be where it is now in part due to Rousey’s influence on the media and without a doubt she will always have a part in Dana White‘s promotion considering the two grew together on Fox.
However, she now has the choice of where to go from here as she’s got multiple options on the table in terms of career choices.
The most monetarily prosperous choice would be that of choice for Ms. Rousey would be that of Carano’s choice and going into the movies full time.
A second choice would be a less obvious one and pursuing her nickname’s sake and see what impact she could make on the WWE’s divas division.
Third and maybe one of the more obvious choices would be that of continuing in the UFC where White has left the idea of an immediate rematch open and Holm seems to be open to the idea.
WMMA in General
Rousey’s path directly influences how the bantamweight division will be affected and the course it will take. There were also several other divisions and individual fighters that can be directly affected.
Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino was moving down in weight so that she could fight Rousey for the title of best woman in the world. Now that Rousey is not in fact the best, the question is whether such a venture is worth it, especially if Holm is not interested in such a match up.
There is then the issue of what should happen to the women’s bantamweight division should Rousey choose an immediate rematch. Miesha Tate was promised a title shot and should’ve been granted the shot that Holm should and thus should get the next crack at the title.
Regardless of either choice, there will be stars to fill her gap should they leave.
Rising star Paige VanZant is quickly gaining popularity with everything that made Rousey famous: skills, looks and personality (though VanZant’s personality is more along the lines of bubbly instead of blunt).
Nevertheless, the fall of Rousey will bring about changes in both WMMA and MMA in general that have yet to be seen.