At long last, at least for some, Ronda Rousey is going to step back into the octagon again (December 30). The lovely, if somewhat conflicted Ms. R won't have fought in over a year. Not since last November when one Holly Holm knocked her into next week, has she faced "live" competition.
Her opponent this time will be Amanda Nunes -- no slouch. After all, she is the current champ in that weight division. Whether or not Rousey can get by Nunes is a good question. Many say she will have her hands full with AN.
But always the plotter, honcho Dana White is saying is Rousey wins, next up she'll face Cris Cyborg. Wow. A cyborg? This competition is getting rough. Actually her name is Cris Justino, a Brazilian, who sports a gaudy 17-1 record with 15 knockouts. In fact, she hasn't been beaten since way back in 2005 -- her first fight. This is the contest UFC fans want to see.
CC has called out Rousey in the past to no avail. She maintains Ronda has been ducking her. It's true in recent fights Rousey slimmed down to 135 lbs. which got her out of Justino's 147 lb. class.
Assuming RR can defeat Nunes, no given, she will most definitely be stepping up against the likes of Justino -- depending on how the fight would go. Rousey is known as a grappler, quickly getting opponents to submit via her signature arm bar. On the other hand, the Cyborg is known as a striker. She hits. Hard. And breaks things, like noses and jaws. So if Rousey can't get her on the mat, she might get her face rearranged. That would not be a good thing for one who seemingly aspires to an acting career.
Dana White confidently predicted such a fight would set an all time record for pay per view hits. That would seem to be a stretch, but hyping is his job.
On another note, Tiger Woods has pulled out of a tournament -- again. After his latest rehab, Eldrick says his game isn't up to snuff well enough yet to compete against top competition on the PGA tour. Well gee. Tell us something we haven't known for the last few years. You can bet Tiger will do two things. Find a way to play a couple of tune-up tournaments before, and definitely make it to the Masters in April. But it's also a possibility, perhaps a good one, that we have seen the end of Tiger's glory days. He's 40 now and hasn't played well in recent years, even when he was healthy. To expect him to return to his old form at this stage in his career is a HUGE stretch.
Thing is, if Tiger can't cut it with the big boys on the regular tour, that leaves him in limbo. It will be a decade before he can play the senior tour, even if he were to be interested in doing such a thing. And it's hard to imagine Woods going out to play if he's going to embarrass himself (tarnish his legacy). He most certainly doesn't need the money.
Here's wishing him well, but methinks the twenty and thirty-somes will eat him alive.
Parting thought. The NHL got underway today. Of course Barry Melrose was amped up. Yet the Canadian might want to consider most folks south of the border aren't much interested yet.
Major League Baseball is in it's most exciting time of the year. The playoffs with the World Series on deck.
NASCAR has their chase for it's own Cup going on.
The ever present gorilla in the room of sports, the NFL, is in full swing.
Like the NBA, which will be starting soon, many all-around American sports fans don't warm up to hockey until after the Super Bowl is over. Or the Stanley Cup playoffs start. Sure, by that time, baseball in underway again, but few get excited over IT during the early months of such a long season.
Luv ya, Barry, you da man. But not just yet, hoser.
And first things first. Bring on Ronda and Amanda, hopefully followed by a fight with a Cyborg.
Somewhere, Arnold Schwarzenegger would be proud.....
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