UFC fighter Ronda Rousey speaks at a ceremony in New York before Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill that will allow professional mixed martial arts, Thursday, April 14, 2016. New York was the last U.S. state to prohibit the bouts. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

When Ronda Rousey makes her return to the UFC, it will be with the bantamweight crown on the line, and quite possibly at Madison Square Garden. So said UFC president Dana White Monday, on ESPN’s “Beadle and Shelburne” podcast.

White was asked about his company’s debut event in New York, in the wake of that state becoming the last in the United States to legalize MMA. UFC 205 is set for Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden, and Rousey is also widely expected to return to the Octagon around then, in what would be her first action since her stunning upset at the hands of Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November 2015.

“She’s definitely part of the discussion, and she will fight whoever has that belt, when she comes back,” White said of Rousey. The bantamweight belt is currently held by Miesha Tate, who defeated Holm in March in the latter’s first title defense.

Tate will take on Amanda Nunes in July at UFC 200, and White noted that if the champion wins that fight quickly, she could possibly have another match before a possible showdown with Rousey in November. “Miesha’s been the No. 2 baddest woman in the world for years, so for her to stay active right now makes sense,” he said.

Given the scenario of Tate keeping her crown at UFC 200 and then fighting again before squaring off against Rousey, White would not say if Holm would be given that chance at a rematch with Tate. “What’s cool right now in that 135-pound division is everybody is fighting right now. The only one who isn’t fighting right now is Holly,” White told ESPN’s Michelle Beadle and Ramona Shelburne.

Holm could have waited for a lucrative rematch with Rousey, but she chose to stay active and paid the price by getting choked out by Tate. Having been denied the chance to be Tate’s opponent at UFC 200, Holm recently speculated that she was being held out for an upcoming shot at Rousey.

However, White’s comments would seem to dispel that possibility, although he did praise Holm’s performance in a losing effort at UFC 196. “For people who know a lot about jiu-jitsu, she did everything right to defend that choke, but Miesha wasn’t letting go of that neck, and she went out like a gangster, she went right to sleep.”

If Tate is able to maintain her grip on the bantamweight crown, it sounds like she’ll be the one facing Rousey, and not Holm or anyone else. Tate has already lost two previous matches, including one when both were part of Strikeforce, but she has been outspoken in claiming that when she next fights Rousey, she’ll be up against someone badly damaged psychologically by her first-ever defeat in MMA.

–H/T Fox Sports

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Des writes for the Early Lead and the D.C. Sports Bog, scouring the Web to bring readers items of interest, both serious and amusing. He also covers fantasy football, as well as fitness topics for the MisFits.

(c) 2016, The Washington Post · Des Bieler · SPORTS, OTHER · Apr 18, 2016 – 7:26 PM