Ronda Rousey to make return at UFC 207 to face Amanda Nunes in bantamweight title match

Rousey will return to the UFC after a 13-month absence following her first defeat at UFC 193

Ronda Rousey will returned at UFC 207 to fight Amanda Nunes (Getty)

Ronda Rousey’s return to the UFC has been confirmed for UFC 207 in December as the former women’s bantamweight champion steps foot in the Octagon for the first time since she suffered a stunning knockout defeat last November.

The American’s return was confirmed on Wednesday by UFC president Dana White, who announced that 29-year-old Rousey will face the current bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.

Since Rousey was knocked out by Holly Holm at UFC 193, the bantamweight title has failed to find a home as Holm lost in her first defence to Miesha Tate, who subsequently dropped the belt to Nunes at UFC 200.

Rousey struggled to cope with her first defeat in the UFC, and will have been missing from the organisation for more than a year by the time she returns at UFC 207 on 30 December in the final show of the year.

She admitted that in the immediate aftermath of her loss to Holm that she had suicidal thoughts, and she was also unable to eat for a number of days after the bout. Her comments led a number of UFC fighters to question whether Rousey would be seen in the Octagon again - including former featherweight champion Jose Aldo - but White insisted that the plan was for her to fulfil her Hollywood commitments and return towards the end of 2016 to fight whoever was in possession of the bantamweight belt.

Rousey lost her bantamweight title at UFC 193 to Holly Holm (Getty)

Rousey though remains the biggest name in the UFC women’s division and is one of the biggest draws for fans across both genders, having won the inaugural women’s bout and defended the bantamweight successfully on six occasions before her loss to Holm in Melbourne.