Ronda Rousey named team captain for the ABC reboot ‘Battle of the Network Stars’

The ABC revival of the classic 70s and 80s TV show 'Battle Of The Network Stars' is getting one of the biggest battlers from the UFC in one Ronda Rousey. The former women's bantamweight champion, who was largely responsible for the addition of female fighters to the UFC roster, will serve as a permanent team captain during the course of the show's summer season. Recently retired Dallas Cowboys superstar DeMarcus Ware will captain the opposing team.

'Battle Of The Network Stars' ran for 12 seasons from 1976 to 1988, and featured sporting contests between many of the biggest names on television at the time. From Tom Selleck to Farrah Fawcett to Billy Crystal to Lynda Carter, the show had a who's who of network stars representing their particular channel in competitions like swimming, track, tug of war, and obstacle course.

"It’s like the the Summer Olympics, but with people you know and love from TV,” executive producer Andrew Glassman told Vulture regarding the reboot, which will feature some fundamental differences from the original. “The network versus network format didn’t make as much sense as fielding teams based on the characters people love from over the years to the current day: cops vs. TV sitcoms, White House vs. lawyers, TV moms and dads vs. TV kids.”

In addition to Rousey and Ware, Glassman promises there'll be more than enough familiar faces to draw you in. And with the show being a creation of talent agency IMG (one half of the WME-IMG team that bought the UFC for $4 billion and represents Rousey), we imagine they'll deliver on that front.

“I’m going to get to work with people from L.A. Law, The West Wing, Melrose Place, Happy Days, CHiPs, JAG, Facts of Life, and The Office. It’s like a TV time machine.”

For Rousey, it represents her biggest entertainment role yet, as she'll have a prominent role to play in all ten of the episodes set to run this summer. It's just another sign that the UFC superstar is putting the cage fighting behind her and finding new Hollywood projects to fill her time. The time that isn't being spent with her new fiance, UFC heavyweight Travis Browne, that is.