Rousey in Waiting? Stakes High for Cat Zingano-Amanda Nunes Winner

Ronda Rousey is back to hitting mitts fresh off of being cleared by her doctor. What does that mean for the top-10 women's bantamweight matchup on Saturday?

No. 1-ranked contender Cat Zingano takes on No. 8-ranked Amanda Nunes in the opening bout of the pay-per-view telecast. Zingano (8-0) is coming off her own injury, and Nunes (9-3) has looked impressive in her two UFC outings.

For Zingano, a win will undoubtedly earn her a title bid against Rousey. It was a bid she already had but lost to injury. After defeating Miesha Tate, she was supposed to coach opposite Rousey on The Ultimate Fighter, but that didn't happen. After injury and personal tragedy she returns at UFC 178.

Nunes is a bigger question. If she knocks off the No. 1 contender she should take her position, right? It's not that simple.

Sure, Nunes will be 3-0 in the UFC if that should happen, but there are a few contenders ahead of her who could easily argue for a title shot over Nunes. The most notable is Bethe Correia. She has defeated two of Rousey's friends and teammates, and has a storyline built in for the potential title fight.

Nunes would have to look very impressive, if not outright stop Zingano, to lay claim to the next shot at Rousey. She has the talent to do just that, but the likelihood is small.

Why does No. 9-ranked Correia play such a big role? Because that is whom Rousey wants to fight.

The aforementioned storyline makes this a much more marketable fight than a potential Nunes bout, and quite frankly it may be more marketable than a Zingano title bid as well. Correia is also undefeated with quality showings in the Octagon. It is hard to envision her jumping Zingano, but easy to see how she gets a shot over Nunes.

Zingano merely has to take care of business and she is next in line.

If she truly is back to 100 percent following her injury, there is no one on the roster who poses as big a threat than Zingano. She is one of the few dynamic athletes on the roster, and her skill set should give Rousey pause.

Zingano is a very talented submission specialist with good strength. If Zingano gets Rousey in a dangerous position, she has the technique and strength to get the finish. It won't easy to survive against Zingano if the opportunity shows itself. More important, however, is Zingano's power.

She has excellent power in her strikes that will test Rousey on the feet. And she isn't limited to just her hands. Zingano throws kicks and knees as well.

Now that Rousey is back to training, she is waiting for the next challenger. UFC 178 will be pivotal in determining whom she will face next. There were talks of Gina Carano, but she will be filming two films for the remainder of 2014. That leaves it to the current UFC roster to fill that void.

If Zingano wins, she's got the shot. If Nunes wins, don't be surprised to see her jumped by a lower-ranked fighter with less impressive performances.

This is an important fight at UFC 178.