Top prospects “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey and Julia “The Jewel” Budd have verbally agreed to face off at Strikeforce Challengers 20 on November 18th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Strikeforce announced the featherweight matchup on Wednesday and MMAjunkie.com first reported on the event and venue.
Rousey picked up a quick but controversial victory in her Strikeforce debut last month; stopping Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio via technical submission due to an armbar in 25 seconds. Budd rebounded from a loss in January by defeating long-time rival Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie in June.
Rousey (3-0-0), a 2008 Olympic bronze medallist in judo, has finished all six of her pro and amateur MMA fights to date via armbar in fewer than 60 seconds. She has taken gradual steps up in competition and has thus far made MMA look easy. Rousey’s Strikeforce debut ended in a victory, but controversy arose after referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the bout with D’Alelio due to an alleged verbal submission that D’Alelio did not appear to make. Rousey will have a chance to silence critics from her Strikeforce debut when she returns in November, and could move up the featherweight ranks with a victory.
Budd (2-1-0) made her mixed martial arts debut for Strikeforce last October after a successful career in Muay Thai. She stopped Shana “Rock Solid” Nelson in round two and was immediately positioned for title contention at 145 pounds. A 14-second knockout loss to Amanda “Lioness of the Ring” Nunes in January put an end to those plans, but Budd employed a smart and effective game plan to defeat de Randamie in June. The bout was a rematch from a 2008 Muay Thai bout, which de Randamie won by knockout. Budd earned a Unanimous Decision in the Strikeforce rematch.
The striker versus grappler matchup could determine a future title challenger for Strikeforce Women’s Featherweight Champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, who is tentatively set to return on December 17th. Another top featherweight star, Gina “Conviction” Carano, is also rumoured to be making her return on the December card.
Strikeforce Challengers 20 takes place on November 18th at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
Budd needs Box and use her jab.
I hope she worked on her Boxing.
She needs to hit Ronda hard and fast, get her respect.
Once Ronda gets a hold of Budd, it’s over.
Ronda needs to be humbled, come on Julia!
I am rooting for Julia Budd, but I don’t see her winning this one, sadly.
She better work on her uppercuts. Ronda tends to run into her opponents, but Julia also needs to train to start fighting while walking backwards.
i think budd will surprise everyone her wrestling is actually pretty good . plus she is a big 145 pder , not a 135 pd moving up . rousey is going to have trouble with budd. the budd loss against nunes was just one of those times when a fighter just gets caught and swarmed . but against de randemie ( who is arguably the best striker in wmma ) budd showed well rounded skills in keeping the fight where budd wanted it. rousey is too cocky and needs a wake up call