On Thursday afternoon New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill officially legalizing MMA in New York. This led to the UFC promptly announcing that their inaugural event in New York would go down on November 12th.
UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta revealed that UFC 205 would be the inaugural event at the Madison Square Garden, and that there is a possibility of Ronda Rousey returning to the Octagon for the event.
Rousey spoke to UFC.com to discuss her desire to fight at UFC 205 in New York:
“It would definitely be a cool thing to stick on your resume, but I wouldn’t do it for that reason,” she said. “It’s important because of the history. I want a tie to a historical place like this and I want to be remembered in a positive way. I’m from Los Angeles, where if something is 50 years old, they tear it down and build a new one. It’s not for my own vanity. It’s for a place in history. I don’t have a single picture of myself fighting in my house. I don’t have my belts, they’re hidden. I don’t like putting stuff out there, but I like fighting for a place in history.”
advertisement – continue reading below“I would love to have the opportunity to fight here because this is another time I feel like I earned the right to fight here because I fought for it,” she said. “It wasn’t just something that fell on my plate; I was part of the process and I think that’s what a lot of the New York fighters will be feeling when they finally get to fight in their hometown.
“It’s not that they’re just defending their turf, but they fought for their right and won the right to be able to defend their turf. Any fighter that fights here is going to feel that vibe, but the New Yorkers are going to feel it double. I’m a little bit envious, to be honest.”