According to an Oct. 6 post from MMA Weekly, UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey – whom Cat Zingano had earned a shot against prior to her knee injury – will square off with Miesha Tate on Dec. 28 in Las Vegas, putting the Invicta FC alum in a perfect position to fight the winner upon her return.
Assuming that fight eventually happens sometime in 2014, Zingano could have the crowd's support. It's rare that a champ assumes the "heel" role, but that seems to be slowly happening to Rousey, now that UFC vet Dennis Hallman has spoken out against her.
During an interview with DirtysMMACorner, Hallman said that Rousey ripped into show producer of The Ultimate Fighter 18 when she found out that her coaches were three weeks behind on getting payments.
"The Ultimate Fighter was having problems with the checks for the assistant coaches, like the money coming in for them," Hallman said. "It was like a couple of weeks behind, and Ronda came to complain to Jamie Campione, who is the producer. She came and said, 'Hey Jamie, I’m really pissed off I brought some of the best coaches in the world here to this show, and they’re supposed to get paid. Here’s three weeks later, and they haven’t been paid.'
"That’s a legit argument, and Jamie from the UFC, very respectful, and she said, 'Oh my gosh, Ronda. I’m so sorry; it will be taken care of very soon.' Before she could finish her sentence, Ronda interrupted her and said, 'You shut your mouth when I’m talking to you. You don’t open your mouth. When I speak to you, you sit there and listen and shut your mouth.' She said that to the producer."
Hallman took things one step further in his rant against Rousey, as he explained that he thinks she has a mental health issue.
"I do think that Ronda has some sort of mental health issue. It’s either that or she’s severely immature," Hallman said of Rousey. "She acts like a 14-year-old boy trapped in a woman’s body, always trying to make everybody think that she’s tough when really she’s not sure of herself."
