Ronda Rousey is on the verge of making history.
The Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion has fought her final fight for the promotion and is set to make her UFC debut in the near future, TMZ reported Thursday night. The Web site also reported that the recently announced Jan. 12 Strikeforce card in Oklahoma City will be the promotion's last.
MMAFighting.com confirmed with sources close to the promotion that both news items are in fact true and more information is expected to be released early next week.
It is unknown at this time when Rousey (6-0) and the rest of the Strikeforce women will make their debuts in the UFC, but it will most certainly happen at some point next year. Women have never fought inside the Octagon during the UFC's 19-year history.
As recently as earlier this year, UFC president Dana White was very hesitant to even consider forming a women's division in the UFC, but the emergence of Rousey has apparently changed his mind.
"She's a (expletive) unique individual. She's like a Diaz brother," White said in September. "She really is. Inside like a (expletive) dude trapped in this beautiful body. The reason I got interested in women's MMA is because of her … everyone is like it's cause she's good-looking and 'Dana blah-blah.' Gina Carano is good-looking too. She's very pretty. There's (expletive) something different about Ronda Rousey."
Strikeforce and Showtime officials refused to comment on the story when contacted by MMAFighting.com. Rousey's manager Darin Harvey would also not confirm the story when asked for a comment.
Source Ronda Rousey set to join UFC; Strikeforce to hold last event in January
Source Miesha Tate joins Rousey in UFC women’s ranks
Just hours after the news broke that Ronda Rousey had become the first female fighter in UFC history, and the organization’s first female 135lbs champion, Miesha Tate took to Twitter to announce that she too would be joining Rousey in her move from a nearly defunct Strikeforce.
Expect the additions of Rousey and Tate to be only the tip of the iceberg, as Dana White looks to import enough talent to fill female divisions he was previously hesitant to introduce due to a perceived lack of depth among the female ranks.