There are three certainties in life: life, death, and Ronda Rousey by armbar in the first round.
The 24-year-old judo specialist has gone 7-0 in her career (4-0 in pro fights, 3-0 in amateurs) and she’s finished each of her fights in the first minute with an armbar. In her most recent fight Friday on Strikeforce Challengers, she even dislocated opponent Julia Budd’s elbow.
Rousey is one of the top fighters at 145 pounds, but she’d rather drop down to 135 to face one of that class’ better fighters before taking on 145-pound champ Cyborg Santos. Specifically, Rousey says she’d like to face bantamweight champ Miesha Tate, not just because she matches up well with her, but because it would be marketable.
“I’m not dumb, you’re not dumb,” Rousey told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “Really, if we push the ‘hot chicks’ to fight each other for a title, it’s going to get a lot of attention. That’s why I’d rather fight Miesha for a title instead of Sarah Kaufman. Because she’s good looking and she’s marketable. More marketable than the vast majority of the girls in women’s MMA. I think that’d be a huge fight and it would lead to an eventual fight between me and Cris Cyborg being an even bigger deal. I’m just trying to figure out the right way to do things so us girl fighters have some job security a few years from now.”
Rousey may come across as conceited, but she knows what she’s doing. Being good looking helps capture attention as a female athlete. Just look at this woman for example.
Rousey has talked in the past about becoming the face of female MMA, and she has the game to back it up. If Rousey can beat Tate, she’ll be on her way to accomplishing that goal. And then we’ll have to wonder what’s going on with Gina Carano, the previous face of female MMA.
