Late on Sunday night Ronda Rousey spoke out for the first time since her shock defeat to Holly Holm at UFC 193 on Saturday in Australia with a short statement on Instagram.
“I just wanted to thank everyone for the love and support,” Rousey wrote. “I appreciate the concerns about my health, but I am fine. As I mentioned before, I am going to take a little time, but I’ll be back.”
Rousey was knocked unconscious by a perfectly timed head kick from Holly Holm early in the second round and had sustained frequent blows to the head earlier in in the fight, with the new champion’s lazer accurate straight left counters in particular being an effective weapon throughout.
However, despite heading immediately to hospital amidst rumors that she may have broken her jaw, it turns out Rousey only required stitches to a split lip.
The 28 year-old superstar had indicated pre-fight that she was planning to take time off to film a movie and get away from the constant glare of the media spotlight, targeting UFC 200 in July of next year as a potential landing spot for her return.
However, at that stage she was targeting a fight with her long-time rival Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino, but the result on Saturday night changes everything and Dana White has since indicated that a rematch with Holly Holm is now the fight to make.
Whether that will take place at UFC 200 or perhaps sooner now remains to be seen, but at least now we know for certain that Rousey will return.
