UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will return to the Octagon on Saturday, Jan. 3, at UFC 182 in Las Vegas.
Rousey’s opponent will be current No. 1 contender, Cat Zingano. The fight will serve as the co-main event.
The news was announced on the promotion’s weekly news show, UFC Tonight. It was later corroborated by UFC President Dana White.
The champion Rousey remains undefeated through her first 10 career bouts. The former Olympic judoka has gone past the first round just once in her career. After capturing gold under the Strikeforce banner in 2012, Rousey has taken the UFC by storm. The 27-year-old has won all four of her bouts with the promotion, including back-to-back stoppages via strikes.
Zingano, meanwhile, returned to action for the first in time in over a year at UFC 178. The Colorado fighter scored a third-round TKO win over Brazilian Amanda Nunes to secure her shot at Rousey’s belt. Zingano had previously earned a title shot with a third-round stoppage of Miesha Tate at the TUF 17 Finale, but a knee injury forced her out of the bout. Like the champion, Zingano has never tasted defeated in her nine-fight career. The 32-year-old has seen the scorecards just once in her career.
UFC 182 takes place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The event is headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones and challenger Daniel Cormier. The night’s main card will air live on pay-per-view, with the preliminary card expected to be split between a Fox Sports 1 broadcast and a stream on UFC Fight Pass.