Ronda Rousey

Early life

Rousey was born in Riverside, California, the youngest of three daughters of AnnMaria De Mars (nee Waddell) and Ron Rousey, after whom Rousey was named. Her mother had a decorated Judo career and was the first U.S. citizen to win a World Judo Championship (in 1984). Her maternal grandfather was Venezuelan, and was of part Afro-Venezuelan ancestry. Her other ancestry includes English and Polish. Her stepfather is an aerospace engineer. Her biological father, having broken his back sledding with his daughters and having learned that he would be a paraplegic, committed suicide in 1995, when Rousey was eight years old. AnnMaria pursued her Ph.D. in educational psychology at the University of California, Riverside as her daughters grew up.

For the first six years of her life, Rousey struggled with speech and could not form an intelligible sentence due to apraxia, a neurological childhood speech sound disorder. This speech disorder was attributed to being born with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck at birth. When Rousey was three years old, her mother and father moved from Riverside, California, to Jamestown, North Dakota, to obtain intensive speech therapy with specialists at Minot State University.

Rousey dropped out of high school and later earned a G.E.D. She was raised in Southern California and Jamestown, North Dakota, retiring from her judo career at 21 and starting her MMA career at 22 when she realized that she did not want to spend her life in a conventional field of work.

Olympic judo career

Rousey began Judo with her mother at the age of 11. At 17, Rousey qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, becoming the youngest judoka in the entire Games. Also in 2004, Rousey won a gold medal at the World Junior Judo Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

In April 2006, she became the first female U.S. judoka in nearly 10 years to win an A-Level tournament as she went 5-0 to claim gold at the Birmingham World Cup in Great Britain. Later that year, the 19-year-old won the bronze medal at the Junior World Championships, becoming the first U.S. athlete ever to win two Junior World medals.

In February 2007, Rousey moved up to 70 kg where she ranked as one of the top three women in the world. She won the silver medal at the 2007 World Judo Championships in the middleweight division and the gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Games.

In August 2008, Rousey competed at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. She lost her quarterfinal to the Dutch ex-world champion Edith Bosch but qualified for a Bronze medal match through the repechage bracket. Rousey defeated Annett Boehm by Yuko to win a bronze medal (note: Judo offers two bronze medals per weight class). With the victory, Rousey became the first American to win an Olympic medal in women's judo since its inception as an Olympic sport in 1992.

Mixed martial arts career

Rousey made her mixed martial arts debut as an amateur on August 6, 2010. She defeated Hayden Munoz by submission due to an armbar in 23 seconds.

She entered the quarterfinals of the Tuff-N-Uff 145 lbs women's tournament on November 12, 2010 and submitted promotional veteran Autumn Richardson with an armbar in 57 seconds.

Rousey faced Taylor Stratford in the Tuff-N-Uff tournament semi-finals on January 7, 2011 and won by technical submission due to an armbar in 24 seconds. She then announced plans to turn pro and was replaced in the tournament. Rousey has a perfect 3-0 record in amateur MMA competition, and the combined duration of all her amateur fights is under 2 minutes.

Rousey made her professional mixed martial arts debut on March 27, 2011 at King of the Cage: Turning Point. She submitted Ediane Gomes with an armbar in 25 seconds.

Rousey faced kickboxing champion Charmaine Tweet in an MMA bout at Hard Knocks Fighting Championship: School of Hard Knocks 12 on June 17, 2011 in Calgary, Canada. She submitted Tweet with an armbar in 49 seconds.

Strikeforce

Rousey was scheduled to make her Strikeforce debut against Sarah D'Alelio on July 30, 2011 at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The fight was pushed back and eventually took place on the Strikeforce Challengers 18 main card on August 12, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rousey defeated D'Alelio by technical submission due to an armbar early in the first round. The victory was controversial as referee Steve Mazzagatti only stopped the fight because D’Alelio appeared to make a brief sound. According to instructions given to fighters before they compete, this is typically deemed to be a verbal submission. Mazzagatti initially did nothing, but after Rousey looked at him and stated that D’Alelio had submitted, he stopped the fight. D'Alelio admitted after the fight that she let out a verbal indication of pain.

Rousey faced Julia Budd at Strikeforce Challengers 20 on November 18, 2011 in Las Vegas. She won via submission due to an armbar in the first round, dislocating Budd's elbow in the process. Following the fight, she announced plans to move down to 135 pounds to challenge Miesha Tate, the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion at the time, with whom she had developed a much-publicized rivalry.

During his appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast 690, Ronda Rousey's trainer Edmund Tarverdyan said that Rousey started her MMA career in the 145lb division because she had to be able to make weight at short notice, due to the difficulty of finding willing opponents. Her everyday 'walking weight' is only 148lb.

Women's Bantamweight Championship

Rousey challenged Tate for her Strikeforce title on March 3, 2012 in Columbus, Ohio. She defeated Tate by submission due to an armbar in the first round, again dislocating her opponent's elbow, to become the new Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion.

Rousey appeared in All Access: Ronda Rousey on Showtime. The half-hour special debuted on August 8, 2012. UFC President Dana White revealed during the program that "In the next 10 years, if there's a woman in the octagon, it's probably going to be Ronda Rousey." The second installment of the special aired on August 15, 2012. Rousey also appeared on Conan.

Rousey defended her Strikeforce title against Sarah Kaufman at Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman on August 18, 2012 in San Diego, California. Rousey said that she would throw Kaufman's arm at her corner after ripping it off with an armbar, and threatened to choke or pound Kaufman's face to death. During the fight, Rousey would quickly take down Kaufman and submit her with an armbar in just 54 seconds to retain the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Championship. After the fight, Rousey announced that if former Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos wanted to fight her, it would have to take place at bantamweight.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In November 2012, the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced that Rousey had become the first female fighter to sign with the UFC. UFC President Dana White officially announced at the UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz pre-fight press conference that Rousey was the first UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion.

Rousey originally opposed using the nickname her friends gave her, "Rowdy", feeling it would be disrespectful to professional wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. After meeting Piper (circa 2012 or 2013) through Gene LeBell, who helped train both of them, Piper personally gave his approval.

Rousey defended her title against Liz Carmouche on February 23, 2013 at UFC 157. Despite being caught in an early standing neck crank attempt from Carmouche, Rousey got out of it and successfully defended her Bantamweight Championship title, winning the fight at 4:49 into the first round by submission due to an armbar. Liz Carmouche dislocated Ronda Rousey's jaw during the fight.

After Cat Zingano defeated Miesha Tate at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen Finale, Dana White announced that Zingano would be a coach of The Ultimate Fighter 18 against Rousey. On May 28, it was announced that Zingano would not be a coach and opponent for Rousey after Zingano suffered a knee injury earlier that same month which would require surgery; therefore, Miesha Tate instead would coach on The Ultimate Fighter 18 against Rousey.

Rousey faced Miesha Tate, in a rematch from Strikeforce, at UFC 168 on December 28, 2013. After going past the first two rounds, with Tate surviving an armbar attempt and a triangle attempt, Rousey finally submitted Tate via armbar in the third round to retain her Bantamweight Championship. In an interview with the LA Daily News Rousey said she had lost muscle during her film commitments and not been able to regain her full strength for the Tate fight.

It was announced at the UFC 168 post-fight press conference that Rousey would defend the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship against fellow Olympic medalist and undefeated fighter, Sara McMann in the main event at UFC 170 on February 22, 2014. Rousey won the fight by TKO after knocking down McMann with a knee to the body. This marked Rousey's first career win via a method other than armbar. The stoppage led to controversy, with some sports writers and attendants finding it premature.

In 2014, Rousey was named one of espnW's Impact 25.

On April 11, 2014 it was announced that Rousey would defend the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship against Alexis Davis in the co-main event at UFC 175 on July 5, 2014. She won the fight via knockout just 16 seconds into the first round. Rousey broke her thumb during the fight. The emphatic win also earned Rousey her second Performance of the Night bonus award.

A match between Rousey and Cat Zingano was scheduled to take place at UFC 182 for the women's bantamweight title. However, the fight was moved to February 28, 2015 at UFC 184. Rousey defeated Zingano with an armbar in 14 seconds, the shortest match in UFC championship history.

Rousey fought Bethe Correia on August 1, 2015 in Brazil, at UFC 190, winning the bout by knockout 34 seconds into the first round. Rousey dedicated the match to "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, who died the day before, commenting that Piper was one of her inspirations and had endorsed her use of his nickname.

The completion of this bout marked Rousey's sixth official with the UFC, all of which had been victories. She spent 1077 seconds in the octagon to attain all six and accumulated $1,080,000 in prize money; this equated to nearly $1002.79 for every second spent fighting. Her average time of 2 minutes and 59 seconds was less than the average time of a single match in every UFC weight class, the fastest of which was the Heavyweight division with a time of 7 minutes and 59 seconds.

In her sixth title defense, Rousey faced Holly Holm in the main event at UFC 193 on November 15, 2015. Despite being a heavy betting favorite, Rousey was unable to get Holm to the ground and had no answer for Holm's superior striking. It was only the second time that Rousey had been taken beyond the first round in her MMA career. Early in the second round, Holm knocked Rousey out with a kick to the head, ending Rousey's three-year reign as champion; it was the first loss of Rousey's MMA career. After the fight, Rousey and Holm were each awarded a Fight of the Night bonus of $50,000. She was also medically suspended by UFC on November 18, 2015, which included a no-contact suspension for 45-days, and no fights for 60-days, and will depend on CT scan results to have her suspension reduced. She was medically cleared on December 9, 2015, but the suspensions still hold. A rematch with Holly Holm is targeted as a main event for UFC 200 on July 9, 2016.

Views on MMA

Rousey has challenged the notion of MMA being anti-woman. She argued, "There are so many ridiculous arguments that MMA is somehow anti-woman. Fighting is not a man's thing, it is a human thing. To say that it is anti-woman is an anti-feminist statement." Some journalists have characterized Rousey as a feminist, while others have described her as "antifeminist".

Professional wrestling

Rousey is a professional wrestling fan. Her nickname was taken from professional wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper, whom she asked for permission. She, Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir have dubbed themselves "The Four Horsewomen," a play on The Four Horsemen professional wrestling stable, with the blessing of leader Ric Flair and enforcer Arn Anderson.

WWE

The Four Horsewomen were acknowledged on camera and commentary as such, in the front row at WWE's SummerSlam in August 2014. They also went backstage for that event, meeting Paul Heyman, among others. Rousey was interviewed by WWE.com that night; when asked if she, like Brock Lesnar, would cross over to wrestling, she replied "You never know."

At WrestleMania 31 in March 2015, they were seated in the front row. During an in-ring argument between The Rock and the Authority (Stephanie McMahon and Triple H), McMahon slapped the Rock and ordered him to leave "her ring". She taunted him, saying he would not hit a woman. He left, paused and walked over to Rousey to a loud ovation. He then helped her into the ring, and said that she would be happy to hit McMahon for him. After a few minutes of a staredown and more dialogue, the Rock attacked Triple H. When he stumbled toward Rousey, she hiptossed him out of the ring. McMahon tried to slap her, was blocked and Rousey grabbed her arm, teasing an armbar, before throwing her out of the ring. Rousey and the Rock celebrated in the ring, while the Authority retreated with the implication of revenge.

The segment was replayed and discussed throughout the next night's Raw. Commentators hyped a tweet Rousey made earlier that day, in which she implied a return to WWE with "We're just gettin' started...".

Rousey made an appearance at Royal Rumble on January 28, 2018, confronting Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair, and Royal Rumble winner Asuka. It was later revealed she had signed a full time contract with the WWE.

Fighting style

In a 2012 interview before her first match with Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey said "When I was doing judo my main advantage was my conditioning and my pace; I used to wear people out." She had taken to heart a quote from Ryoko Tani to fight every five seconds as if it was the last five seconds of the match.

A decorated judoka, Rousey typically grounds an opponent with tosses and sweeps, then seeks to finish with strikes or submissions. From top position, she usually attacks with punches from side control; in rear position, she often secures a back mount and attacks with head strikes. Rousey is right-handed, but is a left-handed judoka fighting in an orthodox stance as a striker.

Rousey is well known for her skill in grappling, and is particularly noted for her string of victories by armbar. Against accomplished strikers, such as Julia Budd and Sarah Kaufman, Rousey has typically brought the fight down and sought a quick submission. Powerful grapplers, such as Miesha Tate and Liz Carmouche, have been more competitive with Rousey on the ground.

During early fights in her MMA career, Rousey mainly used striking to set up judo. She became a more proficient striker following her UFC debut, leading to her first wins by way of stoppage. While standing, Rousey normally uses jabs, knees, and overhand rights. She also seldom stands side on with a set boxing stance, but rather squaring up to the opponent, but still generate great striking power, especially when they are near the fence, or clinching opponents with the left hand to close the distance, while pummeling opponents with strikes, much akin to a Muay Thai fighter launching kickers from the clinch.

While discussing her signature armbar in an interview, Rousey noted that her judoka mother jumped on her every morning to wake her up with armbars.

Rousey is notable for introducing trash talking to Women's MMA. In many interviews Rousey has used harsh language and openly downplayed the abilities of her opponents, which she explains as a way to generate more publicity for the sport.

Other work

Rousey appeared nude on the cover of ESPN The Magazine's 2012 Body Issue and in a pictorial therein. Touching upon the strategic cropping, poses, and arm placement used in the photos to make them less revealing, Rousey explained: "With all these ring girls and their vaginas – all of this goes back to advice my mom gave me. She gave me this one piece of advice, which I still hold dear. She said, 'Look, whatever pictures you put out there are gonna be out there forever, so just think that one day your 12 or 13-year-old son or daughter is going to see those pictures. Whatever you want your son or daughter, or even your 13-year-old little sister to see, keep that in mind.' So, whatever I’m not gonna show on a beach, I'm not gonna show in a magazine. These girls are going to have to explain to their kids one day why mommy's ass and vagina are all over the place." Her rival Miesha Tate criticized Rousey's comments as "hypocritical", arguing that Rousey's comments about ring girls constituted a double standard.

In May 2013, Rousey was ranked 29 on the Maxim Hot 100. She also appeared on the cover and in a pictorial of the September 2013 issue.

Rousey co-starred in The Expendables 3 (2014), marking her first role in a major motion picture. In 2015, she appeared in the film Furious 7, and played herself in the film Entourage.

In 2015, Rousey became the first woman featured on the cover of Australian Men's Fitness, appearing on their November edition.

In September 2015, it was announced that Rousey would star in a reboot of Road House.

In October 2015, Rousey became the first female athlete to guest host ESPN's SportsCenter.

Rousey has had a range of commercial partnerships, including mobile network operator MetroPCS, insurance agency Insureon, Reebok, and Carl's Jr.

Personal life

Rousey was formerly a vegan, but describes her current diet as "kind of a mix between a Paleo and a Warrior diet".

Rousey has discussed how she dealt with body image in the past and her struggle with it. She explained, "When I was in school, martial arts made you a dork, and I became self-conscious that I was too masculine. I was a 16-year-old girl with ringworm and cauliflower ears. People made fun of my arms and called me 'Miss Man'. It wasn't until I got older that I realized: these people are idiots. I'm fabulous."

Rousey is an avid fan of Dragon Ball Z, and Pokemon. She also plays World of Warcraft.

In 2015, she raised money for the Black Jaguar White Tiger Foundation, whose goal is to save big cats from circus and zoos and provide them with the best lifestyle, by auctioning signed T-shirts.

In April 2015, Rousey visited Yerevan to participate in the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. While in Yerevan, she visited the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide memorial.

Rousey has endorsed Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign for the upcoming 2016 United States presidential election.

Relationships

Rousey once dated fellow UFC fighter Brendan Schaub. In August 2015, Rousey was rumored to be in a relationship with another UFC fighter Travis Browne, who knocked out Schaub in a bout the previous year, after a picture of the two together appeared on Twitter and Browne's estranged wife Jenna Renee Webb accused the two of seeing one another. Browne was at the time still married and under investigation by the UFC after Webb publicly accused him of domestic violence back in July. Browne confirmed he and Rousey were together in October 2015. The next day, Rousey announced publicly that she was dating Browne. On April 20, 2017, Rousey and Browne announced their engagement. Browne proposed to Rousey under a waterfall in New Zealand.The two were married on August 28, 2017 in Browne's home state of Hawaii.

Domestic violence incident

In her autobiography, My Fight, Your Fight, Rousey revealed she got violent with an ex-boyfriend she dubbed "Snappers McCreepy", two weeks before her first fight with Miesha Tate, after Rousey discovered that he had taken nude photos of her without her consent or knowledge.

“I slapped him across the face so hard my hand hurt,” Rousey wrote.

The ex-boyfriend doesn’t respond physically, but he blocks the door and refuses to move when Rousey tries to leave.

“I punched him in the face with a straight right, then a left hook. He staggered back and fell against the door,” Rousey wrote. “… I slapped him with my right hand. He still wouldn’t move. Then I grabbed him by the neck of his hoodie, kneed him in the face and tossed him aside on the kitchen floor.”

Rousey goes on to write that the ex-boyfriend jumped in her car and, when he wouldn’t get out, she hauled him out by the neck of his sweatshirt and left him writhing on the sidewalk.