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.
