UFC legend Ronda Rousey in talks for surprising fight against top boxer

UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey is reportedly in active negotiations to fight boxing’s top female star.

Boxingscene.com reports that Rousey is in talks for a boxing match against Katie Taylor. It was noted that Las Vegas is being targeted as the location. Netflix is reportedly interested in streaming the event, which would be planned for summer 2026 if all goes well.

Many expected that if Rousey were to return to combat sports, it would be under the UFC banner for a marquee MMA bout. Some fans even floated the idea of Rousey competing on the UFC White House card.

Renowned MMA coach and UFC analyst Din Thomas recently expressed his belief that Rousey shouldn’t even be allowed to compete by any athletic commission.

“She shouldn’t even be cleared,” Thomas said to MMAJunkie’s Mike Bohn. “How irresponsible would it be for a fight organization to hear all that then put her in a fight? To me, it almost sounds like you might’ve leaked that stuff in hopes they don’t put you back in a fight.

“You can’t play with those issues. It wouldn’t be good for the sport. It would be a real bad look on the sport to have some complaining about those type of issues, and then you, knowing that, you still put her in a fight. If that’s the case, we’ve got to keep her out of the Octagon.”

There is no word on whether or not Rousey is using talks for a boxing match against Taylor to get a better deal from UFC or if she’s simply exploring her options. Rousey wasn’t known for her striking during her dominant run in MMA, as most of her wins were due to her top judo skills.

Rousey was stopped in her last two outings against Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes due to being outstruck on the feet. Someone with the superior boxing of Taylor figures to be a sizable favorite over “Rowdy.”