Dana White: Ronda Rousey Won’t Fight At UFC 205, But Her Return Will Be Huge

Ronda Rousey may return to the Octagon before the end of this year, although it won’t be at UFC 205 in November.

Dana White: Ronda Rousey Won’t Fight At UFC 205, But Her Return Will Be Huge

The former bantamweight champion (12-1) has not said much since losing in a head-kick knockout to Holly Holm at UFC 193 last November, thus snapping her undefeated streak. However, UFC President Dana White recently announced she will not fight in the Nov. 12 card at Madison Square Garden.

“She’s definitely not fighting in New York,” White said on the “UFC Unfiltered” podcast. “I’m actually going to start building the New York card this week.”

White also added that he believes Rousey’s comeback fight will be huge, so big in fact that he said it could beat every other pay-per-view on record, even the recent pair of fights between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz.

White, 47, was asked point blank by Colin Cowherd on “The Herd” on Thursday if the 29-year-old’s return would do better financially than McGregor vs. Diaz and without blinking he answered “yes”.

The date for Rousey’s return has been pushed back several times since her defeat to Holm.

Sources have told FOX Sports that she is currently in talks with the UFC regarding a possible return to action with a potential date before the end of the year, with the most probable landing spot on the Dec. 30 (UFC 207) card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Another possible return date is UFC 206, which will be held Dec. 10 in Toronto

Negotiations are ongoing and to date, Rousey and the UFC haven’t actually reached any sort of agreement on her return.

Rousey has focused on her movie career since her shocking loss to Holm. She also hosted Saturday Night Live in January, just two months after that upset. White announced in June that she had undergone arthroscopic knee surgery.

“I’m hoping we’re going to get Ronda back this year,” he said June 2. “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.”

The PPV fight in New York is UFC’s first in the city since its 1997 ban on professional mixed martial arts (MMA) was lifted earlier this year.

Rousey, who fights out of Glendale, California, defended the UFC’s bantamweight championship six times before falling to Holm.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 22: Ronda Rousey speaks during Reebok Women’s Luncheon, hosted by Ronda Rousey, on March 22, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Reebok)