Ronda Rousey to face undefeated Holly Holm on Jan. 2

From the time she signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Holly Holm was believed to be destined to square off with “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey.

On Friday morning live on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Rousey, the undefeated UFC women’s bantamweight champion, made it official that she’ll face the undefeated Holm live on pay-per-view Jan. 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in the main event for UFC 195.

“She’s definitely my biggest challenge to date, so I’m super excited about it,” Rousey said on the morning show.

Rousey (12-0, 6-0 in UFC), who has reached a level of stardom with the mainstream unlike any previous UFC combatant, will face Holm (9-0, 2-0), a decorated former world boxing champion ranked ninth by the UFC in the 135-pound division, rather than Rousey rival Miesha Tate, the No. 1 ranked contender.

Tate (17-5, 4-2) was recognized by the UFC and company president Dana White as the next challenger following her decision win over Jessica Eye on July 25, but obviously plans changed. It was Tate’s fourth consecutive win following a loss to Rousey on Dec. 28, 2013. That was Tate’s second loss to Rousey, who won the Strikeforce title from Tate in 2012 before that belt became the UFC championship.

Rousey, 28, will make her eighth consecutive title defense on Jan. 2, her seventh UFC championship defense and compete in her ninth straigth title match.

Perhaps most remarkably, Rousey will defend her UFC crown for the fourth time against an undefeated challenger. Previous to that, only light heavyweights Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida had squared off in a UFC title match pitting undefeated foes.

A former United States Olympic bronze medalist in judo, Rousey has exploded in popularity, having landed roles in movies such as “Furious Seven” and “Entourage,” been on the cover of Sports Illustrated and turned out an autobiography entitled “My Fight/Your Fight,” which will become a biopic starring Rousey as herself. In mixed martial arts competition, Rousey has finished all 12 of her fights, 11 coming in the first round.

Holm, 33, owns a 33-2-2 record in boxing and was also 3-1 in kickboxing. “The Preacher’s Daughter” made her UFC debut in the co-main event of UFC 184 on Feb. 28 with a split decision over Raquel Pennington. The card was headlined by Rousey’s 14-second win over Cat Zingano and was the first UFC card to have a main event and co-main event featuring female fighters. Holm’s most recent performance was a July 15 unanimous decision over Marion Reneau.

“I prepare for a five-round war every time I get in there,” Rousey said. “No one’s easy until after you beat them and, with Holly Holm, she’s the type that is ready to go 12 boxing rounds. She’s not the average chick that I fight. She’s the best striker I’ve ever fought and striking is something I learned much later in my career. So I don’t ever expect fights to be easy and fast. No one knows exactly how the fights are going to go and that’s why everybody buys them.”

Rousey’s latest bout was a 34-second dismantling of Bethe Correia on Aug. 1 in Brazil. It was Rousey’s third straight bout to last less than a minute, as wins over Correia, Zingano and Alexis Davis have combined to last just 64 seconds.

For the duration of her amateur and professional mixed martial arts career, Rousey has trained at the Glendale Fighting Club under Edmond Tarverdyan.