Larry Brown Sports

Ronda Rousey gave one of her most dedicated fans quite the treat when she spent some time over the weekend specially drawing a customized tattoo that included her autographed initials on the fan’s ankle.

Carey Fusco, who is a huge Rousey fan and calls the fighter one of her inspirations, tells Larry Brown Sports she ran into the UFC champ at the Tuff-N-Uff event in Mesquite, Ariz., over the weekend and told her she was interested in getting the fighter’s autographed initials tattooed on her ankle.

“[Rousey] was like ‘Really? That’s cool!’ and then said ‘let’s do it,’ ” Fusco recalled to Larry Brown Sports in an email.

Fusco then rolled up her pants, pushed down her socks, and let Rousey draw her initials on her ankle. Fusco says Rousey was very sweet and careful while taking her time on the design to make it perfect.

Fusco has been a Rousey fan for a few years and knew the fighter was destined for stardom long before she exploded in popularity. Fusco tells LBS she first saw Rousey fight at a Tuff-N-Uff event in 2010 and that Rousey stood out to her immediately. Fusco took a picture with Rousey that day — surprising Rousey with the request — and got to see her fight at Tuff-N-Uff one more time before the armbar master went pro.

A year later, she saw Rousey at the 2011 World MMA Awards in Las Vegas, by which time the fighter had become well known. She says Rousey told her, “Hey, I remember you from Tuff-n-Uff!” which instantly made Fusco a fan for life.

She ran into Rousey at the next awards show and says Rousey remembered her again and they took a picture. So when Fusco saw Rousey at the latest Tuff-N-Uff event, she decided to ask the superstar for the autograph so she could get it tattooed.

“The way I look at it, I have a custom tattoo designed by Ronda Rousey, somebody who has changed the face of MMA forever. I was a fan before she blew up, and watched her career transform and grow. Such an inspiration,” says Fusco.

We have seen some dedicated fans go all-out with tattoos of their favorite athlete or sports team, but not many of them can say their favorite athlete specially designed and signed their work. Carey Fusco can make that claim.

Photo credit: Carey Fusco

A rumor circulated on Tuesday that Ronda Rousey has been courted to play a role in the third installment of “The Hunger Games” movies. The report emanated from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio and was publicized by MMA site Bloody Elbow.

When contacted by Larry Brown Sports over email Wednesday, Rousey’s manager Darin Harvey said he had no comment on the report.

When asked for his opinion on the report, UFC President Dana White was not bashful.

“You know how I feel about the movie stuff,” White said on “UFC Tonight” Tuesday, per MMA Mania. “When Rampage (Jackson) did the movie, it was his dream to be a part of the A-Team. I don’t want to take away any opportunities from Ronda, but at the same time, her window of opportunity as a professional athlete is really narrow. She could make a zillion movies when she retires. Where she’s really going to get the money is here fighting. I don’t care if she’s the lead role in ‘The Hunger Games 2,’ she would not make anywhere near – I mean, not even in the universe – to the money she makes fighting.”

Would Rousey really make more as a fighter than she would as an actress? I’m not as confident as White. I do know acting has one benefit — it would be a heck of a lot safer than fighting.

In August, Rousey hinted at the possibility of going into movies. However, she recently told the New York Post she wouldn’t consider an acting career until she’s done fighting.

“I’m a fighter first,” Rousey said Feb. 14. “I came straight [to this interview] from sparring, not from getting my eye brows done. Once I feel like my fighting career is done, then maybe I’ll go into something else.”

Rousey may not be ready for a movie career, but she certainly is becoming famous. She headlined UFC 157 over the weekend and it reportedly generated a very respectable 400,000-plus pay-per-view buys. It must be noted that she did get a nice boost from the Lyoto Machida-Dan Henderson co-main event, which probably would have drawn well on its own.

White, of course, is hoping Rousey sticks with fighting; he allowed women into the UFC because of Rousey and he would be losing his biggest female draw if she left. Former Strikeforce fighter Gina Carano began making movies after losing to Cyborg Santos in 2009 and hasn’t returned to the cage since.

Liz Carmouche lost to Ronda Rousey at UFC 157 in Anaheim Saturday and has the battle scars to prove it.

At the postfight press conference, Carmouche showed off bite marks that Rousey left on her forearm during their fight.

Carmouche was a heavy underdog entering the fight, but she gave Rousey the toughest test the champion has ever had in her MMA career. Not only did she last longer than anyone had before (she didn’t tap until 11 seconds were left in the round), but she also probably came the closest to submitting Rousey than anyone else.

Carmouche jumped onto Rousey’s back and had a neck crank going early in the first round. That led to Carmouche receiving the bite marks on her arm:

Read The Rest of the Story…

Ronda Rousey spoke in rare detail about her father’s death and showed raw emotion during a moving interview released this week.

Rousey is two weeks away from her first career fight in the UFC. She will be taking on Liz Carmouche Feb. 23 at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The UFC has begun increasing promotion for the fight, and they released the first episode of “UFC Primetime: Rousey vs. Carmouche” this week to help build interest in the match.

The show is structured very similarly to HBO’s fantastic “24/7″ series that revolutionized the fight promotion industry. The episode takes viewers into the personal lives of both fighters. We learn about their histories, their daily routines, and how hard each of them have worked to get where they are.

Rousey’s life as a struggling waitress following her time as a judo fighter at the Olympics is discussed; Carmouche’s struggle with her sexuality is broached. But the episode really begins to touch viewers when Rousey talks about her father.

Rousey has talked in the past about her father dying and how it has inspired her toward greatness. Normally considered a tough girl who talks trash, is free sexually, and isn’t afraid to go after anyone, Rousey was in tears when she talked about her dad, who died when she was eight.

Give yourself about five minutes to watch this video and you will see a side of Rousey that she doesn’t often show:

Read The Rest of the Story…

Ronda Rousey will be making her UFC debut at UFC 157 in February, and some people are not too thrilled about all the promotion she’s receiving. In fact, one of Dan Henderson’s coaches is upset with the situation.

Hendo, who was Strikeforce’s light heavyweight champion and a two-time champion in Pride, will be fighting Lyoto Machida at the Anaheim event. Their fight is being billed as the co-main event behind Rousey’s fight with Liz Carmouche. That’s not sitting well with Henderson’s striking coach Gus Pugliese.

“Ronda is headlining UFC 157. Here is why I have a problem with that,” Pugliese wrote on his Facebook page Monday. “Ronda is the champion of Strikeforce with 6 wins in less than 2 years of a mma professional career. That’s impressive regardless of who she has fought. However, she is not the UFC champion yet. She still has to win this fight to get that belt. On the other hand , we have Hendo, who has also been the Strikeforce champion (never lost the belt),Pride champion in 2 different weight classes; he has been ranked #1 contender for the UFC 205lbs, and #6 by many pound for pound best fighter. His resume is second to none, moreover, he is fighting a former champion, Lyoto Machida. Now why aren’t they main event? Is Ronda a better market value? I don’t know, but her fight could be quick as usual and we could be missing another historic 5 rds fight between 2 legends and possible hall of famers. I’m not saying she doesn’t deserve to headline an UFC event, but certainly not this one.”

At least Pugliese isn’t saying Rousey doesn’t deserve to headline an event, he just doesn’t think it should be ahead of Hendo. He further explained his view to Gracie Mag.

Read The Rest of the Story…

Ronda Rousey isn’t one to act bashful when it comes to dishing her bedroom secrets. The blossoming MMA star says she has a hefty appetite for sex when she’s preparing for fights.

Rousey told Conan O’Brien in July that she likes having sex before fights because it increases the testosterone level in females, making them more aggressive. She went a little further on the subject matter during an interview that aired on “Jim Rome on Showtime” Wednesday.

“For girls it raises your testosterone, so I try to have as much sex as possible before I fight actually. Not with like everybody, I don’t put out like a Craigslist ads or anything, but if I got a steady I’m going to be like, ‘Yo, fight time’s coming up,’” Rousey said.

If I’ve “got a steady.” That’s classic. Rousey isn’t about boyfriends, fiancees, or significant others. Oh no. This beast of a woman is about having a steady sex partner.

I’m sure that comes as no surprise; this is the same woman who has defeated all her opponents by first-round armbar. She’s not your average lady.

Glove touch to Cagewriter

Ronda Rousey wants to be known as one of the best female fighters in the world, but she is also not afraid to gain attention as a sex symbol. She appeared nude on the cover of ESPN the Magazine’s “Body Issue” a while back — which can be seen on Dana White’s t-shirt here — and has admitted on talk shows that she likes having sex before fights.

Rousey recently made a bid to appear on the cover of Oxygen Magazine, but she said in a tweet on Monday that the photo you see above was deemed “too sexy” to be used.

Read The Rest of the Story…