There is no word yet on when Ronda Rousey will officially return to the Octagon, but Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White doesn't seem alarmed by it.
In fact, he is confident that Rousey will make a successful return and carry the same spunk she had before falling to eventual UFC women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm, based on a chance interview with him by TMZ.
Rousey has asked for more time off to fulfill her filming obligations. But in the minds of many, Rousey could be trying to mentally condition herself as well while she is out of the UFC scene.
Rousey's jarring loss is seen by many as affecting her psychologically as well. While she did get beaten down by Holm with some boxing and kick-boxing combos, the obvious seems to be that Rousey never thought she would be in this situation.
For someone who has been undefeated and on top of the world, the loss could be a big blow to her ego. But White and other Rousey believers feel that this is not the case.
The delay on her return is (at the moment) attributed to her lineup of Hollywood commitments and that loss was simply ironic. Rousey was originally believed to be returning by July for UFC 200, although not many were convinced that it was enough time for her to recover from that shocking loss.
With regards to her return, it was specifically mentioned by her trainer, Edmond Tarverdyan, that it would take her four months to prepare for a next fight.
This means that if Rousey will fulfill her promise of returning this year, she should be preparing as early as August to make a December debut.
That will most likely be the sign if she will indeed be returning in 2016. Anything over that month will be a red flag — meaning her chances of recovering against Holm will not be that good.
