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UFC

Report: WWE wants Ronda Rousey in a match at WrestleMania 33

By Damon Martin FoxSports
Published | Updated
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Brock Lesnar's return at UFC 200 didn't happen without the WWE signing off on one of their biggest stars returning to mixed martial arts to compete for at least one more fight.

Lesnar, who remains under exclusive contract to the professional wrestling organization, had to get permission from Vince McMahon before he was allowed to pursue his upcoming fight with Mark Hunt on July 9.

Now according to Forbes, part of the concessions made to allow Lesnar to return to UFC could also include a deal that would see former women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey return to WWE.

According to the report, WWE wants to work with the UFC on a couple of key things, but at the top of the list is getting Rousey to wrestle at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, Fla. next April.

Rousey appeared in a popular segment at WrestleMania 31 in 2015 and rumors immediately started swirling about the superstar making another appearance on WWE programming in the future.

Rousey never returned to WWE after that lone appearance, but she has expressed a desire to show up again due in large part to her own love of professional wrestling over the years.

The WWE now apparently wants Rousey not only to appear at the biggest event of the year, but they want her to actually wrestle in a match on the card.

The second part of the deal the WWE is reportedly interested in would involve additional promotion for their SummerSlam event on August 21 with even more UFC fighters appearing on that card.

FOX Sports first confirmed earlier this week that talks have started between WWE and Paige VanZant for the strawweight fighter to appear at SummerSlam. If that appearance was one of the conditions of this new working deal, it appears WWE and the UFC could be making concessions for even more appearances between the two brands in the future.

Lesnar's bout at UFC 200 has been promoted as a "one-off" fight by WWE with him returning there to compete at SummerSlam in August. Still, Lesnar has hinted that the competitor in him may not be satisfied by just one fight back in July so there's a chance this partnership between the UFC and WWE could grow after UFC 200 wraps.