Rousey is the only woman to become a champion in both the UFC and WWE as well as the only woman to headline a pay-per-view event in both companies.[21] She was voted the best female athlete of all time in a 2015 ESPN fan poll, and Fox Sports described her as "one of the defining athletes of the 21st century."[22][23][24][25] Rousey has also appeared in films, including The Expendables 3 (2014),[26]Furious 7 (2015),[27] and Mile 22 (2018),[28] and published her autobiography, My Fight / Your Fight, in 2015.[29]
Early life
Ronda Jean Rousey was born in Riverside, California[30][31] on February 1, 1987, the youngest of three daughters of AnnMaria De Mars (née Waddell) and Ronald John Rousey,[32] after whom she was named.[33] Her mother, a decorated judoka, was the first American to win a World Judo Championship (in 1984, as AnnMaria Burns). Rousey is of English, Polish, Venezuelan, Trinidadian, and Canadian ancestry.[34] One of her maternal great-grandfathers, Alfred Waddell, was a Trinidadian doctor who emigrated to Canada and became one of the first black physicians in North America, while a maternal great-grandmother was born in Caracas, Venezuela.[35][36] Her stepfather is an aerospace engineer.[37] When Rousey was eight years old, her biological father, who had broken his back while sledding with his kids, died by suicide.[33][38] AnnMaria pursued a PhD in educational psychology at the University of California, Riverside as her daughters grew up.[33][39]
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.[40] This speech disorder was attributed to being born with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. 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.[41][42] Rousey dropped out of high school and later earned her GED.[43] She was raised between Jamestown and Southern California, 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.[44]
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 2006 Junior World Championships, becoming the first U.S. athlete to win two Junior World medals.[46]
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 (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.[48][49] Rousey ultimately compiled a competition judo record of 56 wins and 19 losses.[50]
Rousey retired from judo at 21 after the Olympics. After winning her Olympic medal, Rousey shared a studio apartment with a roommate in Venice Beach, California and worked three jobs as a bartender and cocktail waitress to support herself and her dog.[51]
Mixed martial arts career
Training
When Rousey started learning judo, her mother took her to judo clubs run by her old teammates. Rousey went to North Hollywood, Los Angeles Hayastan MMA Academy, which was run by Gokor Chivichyan, where she trained with fellow future MMA fighters Manny Gamburyan and Karo Parisyan. According to Rousey, Hayastan practiced "a more brawling style of judo versus the more technical Japanese style." Rousey trained mostly with males bigger than she was and often got frustrated and cried when she got thrown and could not throw somebody. "Probably from 2002 to 2005 I cried every single night of training," Rousey remarked.[45]
Rousey trained closely with Gamburyan. After Rousey injured her knee when she was 16, Gamburyan volunteered to open the gym every afternoon and work with her personally. Back in 2004, her teammates thought Rousey "would kill these girls" in MMA, but also thought she was "too pretty to get hit in the face" and should keep doing judo. While Gamburyan and Parisyan went into MMA, Rousey stuck with judo but remained in touch with MMA through them. The first MMA fight she took an interest in watching was Manny Gamburyan versus Nate Diaz in The Ultimate Fighter finale. Rousey stated she never got as excited watching judo or any other sport. After the 2008 Olympics the following year, she decided to start MMA through Team Hayastan.[45]
Rousey also trained at the Glendale Glendale Fighting Club, to which she was introduced by Gamburyan and other Hayastan teammates. She started training under her long-term MMA coach Edmond Tarverdyan at Glendale Fighting Club.[52]
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.[56]
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.[57]
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.[58] Rousey has a 3–0 record in amateur MMA competition, and the combined duration of all her amateur fights is under 2 minutes.[44]
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.[56][59]
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.[60] She submitted Tweet with an armbar in 49 seconds.[61][62]
Strikeforce (2011–2012)
Early success
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.[63] The fight was postponed and eventually took place on the Strikeforce Challengers 18 main card on August 12, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada.[64] Rousey defeated D'Alelio by technical submission due to an armbar early in the first round. The victory was controversial. Rousey claimed that D'Alelio yelled "tap" more than once and that D'Alelio denied this and claimed to have yelled "Aaaahhh". According to the unified rules of mixed martial arts, either one of these utterances would still be a verbal submission.[65]
Rousey faced Julia Budd at Strikeforce Challengers 20 on November 18, 2011, in Las Vegas.[66] 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.[67][68]
During his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Rousey's trainer Edmond Tarverdyan said that Rousey started her MMA career in the 145 lb division because she had to be able to make weight at short notice, due to the difficulty of finding willing opponents.[69]
Women's Bantamweight Champion
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.[70][71]
Rousey appeared in All Access: Ronda Rousey on Showtime. The half-hour special debuted on August 8, 2012.[72] 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."[73] The second installment of the special aired on August 15, 2012.[74] Rousey also appeared on Conan.[75]
Rousey defended her strikeforce title against Sarah Kaufman at Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman on August 18, 2012, in San Diego, California.[76] 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.[77] During the fight, Rousey quickly took Kaufman down and submitted her with an armbar in 54 seconds to retain the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Championship. After the fight, Rousey announced that if former Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg wanted to fight her, it would have to take place at bantamweight.[78][79][80]
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.[82]
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 went on to successfully defend her Bantamweight Championship title, winning the fight at 4:49 into the first round by submission due to an armbar.[83] Carmouche dislocated Ronda Rousey's jaw during the fight.[84][85]
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.[86] In an interview with Los Angeles 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.[87]
Record-setting championship reign
Rousey defended her 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 just over a minute into the first round. 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.[88][89][90]
In 2014, Rousey was named one of espnW's Impact 25.[91]
Rousey defended 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 16 seconds into the first round. Rousey broke her thumb during the fight.[92] The emphatic win also earned Rousey her second Performance of the Night bonus award.[93]
A match between Rousey and Cat Zingano was scheduled to take place at UFC 182 for the women's bantamweight title.[94] However, the fight was moved to February 28, 2015, at UFC 184.[95] Rousey defeated Zingano with an armbar in 14 seconds, the shortest title match in the history of UFC until Conor McGregor defeated José Aldo in 13 seconds 11 months later.[96][97]
Rousey fought Bethe Correia on August 1, 2015, in Brazil, at UFC 190, winning the bout by knockout 34 seconds into the first round.[98] 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.[99] This fight earned her another Performance of the Night award.[100]
The bout was Rousey's sixth 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.[101][102] 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.[103]
Title loss and subsequent retirement
In her seventh title defense, Rousey faced Holly Holm in the main event at UFC 193 on November 15, 2015.[104] Despite being a heavy betting favorite, Rousey was out struck by Holm for most of the bout, and was knocked out with a kick to the neck in round two, losing her title and undefeated streak in the process. After the fight, Rousey and Holm were each awarded a Fight of the Night bonus of $50,000.[105] She was also medically suspended by UFC on November 18, 2015.[106] She was medically cleared on December 9, 2015.[107] The loss to Holm impacted Rousey significantly. Upon her return to the United States after the fight, she hid her face from the paparazzi with a purple pillow.[108] In a February 16, 2016, appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Rousey stated that she considered suicide in the immediate aftermath of her head kick KO defeat to Holm.[109] This fight earned her another Fight of the Night award.[110]
After over a year away from the sport, Rousey returned to face champion Amanda Nunes on December 30, 2016, in the main event at UFC 207.[111] Rousey lost the fight via TKO early in round one.[112]
Although she did not formally announce her retirement, when asked if she would fight MMA again by Ellen DeGeneres in 2018, Rousey replied, "I think it's just as likely as me going back to another Olympics for judo."[113] She was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July 2018.
Mixed martial arts fighting style
While some fighters strike an impassive pose … Rousey is nothing if not expressive. She smiles often, squinting so tightly that her eyes disappear. She cries easily, a girlhood habit she never outgrew. And before each fight, she glares at her opponent as if she were getting ready to put a permanent end to a lifelong feud. After the fight, she is all smiles again, and usually unblemished.
In a 2012 interview[114] before her first match with Miesha Tate, 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 hip throws and sweeps, then seeks to finish with strikes or submissions.[115][116] 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.[117][118][119] Rousey is right-handed, but is a left-handed judoka fighting in an orthodox stance as a striker.[120]
Rousey's favorite MMA fighter is Fedor Emelianenko, whose fighting style she works to emulate.[121]
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.[116][122] Only powerful grapplers, such as Miesha Tate and Liz Carmouche, have been competitive with Rousey on the ground.[115][117]
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.[123][124] She seldom stood side on with a set boxing stance, but would square up to the opponent, while still generating strong striking power, especially when near the fence, or clinching opponents with the left hand to close the distance.[125]
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.[126]
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.[127][128]
The Four Horsewomen were acknowledged on camera and commentary as such, in the front row at WWE's SummerSlam event on August 17, 2014. The group also went backstage during the event, meeting Paul Heyman, among others.[130] 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".[131]
At WrestleMania 31 on March 29, 2015, the Four Horsewomen 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 staredown, The Rock attacked Triple H. When he stumbled toward Rousey, she tossed 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.[132] The segment was replayed and discussed throughout the next night's Raw with the commentators hyping a tweet Rousey made earlier that day, in which she implied a return to WWE with "We're just gettin' started...".[133]
On July 13, 14, and September 12, 2017, the Horsewomen appeared in the audience of the Mae Young Classic to support their compatriot Shayna Baszler, who was making her WWE debut in the tournament. Additionally, during the event, all four Horsewomen had a face-off with Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Bayley, who, in WWE together with Sasha Banks, were also known as the Four Horsewomen, hinting at a possible future feud between the two groups.[134][135][136]
Rousey made her in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34, WWE's flagship event, in a mixed tag team match pitting Rousey and Kurt Angle against Stephanie McMahon and Triple H.[142][143] At WrestleMania on April 8, Rousey submitted McMahon with her trademark armbar submission hold to secure the win for her team.[144] Her debut performance was widely praised by both fans and wrestling critics, with wrestling veteran Jim Cornette calling it the greatest debut ever.[145][146]The Washington Post noted the positive fan reaction, stating "The match exceeded expectations, with fans firmly behind Rousey" and "[fans were] surprised [at her] high-level coordination and quality of wrestling. Even those who were not agreed the match was entertaining".[147]
In May, she was challenged by then-champion Nia Jax, setting up Rousey's shot at the Raw Women's Championship at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view.[148] At the event on June 17, Rousey won the match by disqualification after interference by Alexa Bliss, who attacked both Rousey and Jax and cashed in her Money in the Bank contract (which she won earlier that night) to win the title instead.[149][150] For her first singles match and title opportunity, she was once again praised by fans and critics for her performance, with CNET stating "For the first time, [WWE's] biggest mainstream star is a woman".[151][152] They believed that despite "worry was that the match would expose Rousey's own inexperience, which would greatly damage her aura and star power", she "came across as a formidable, believable star wrestler. The match was good, but she was awesome".[151] Throughout the next two months, Rousey would start her first feud in WWE with Alexa Bliss over the title, which included a suspension (again in kayfabe) after Rousey attacked Bliss, Angle, and multiple officials.[153][154] After honoring her suspension from in-ring competition, Rousey received a Raw Women's Championship match by Raw general manager Kurt Angle against Bliss at SummerSlam.[155] At the event on August 19, Rousey squashed Bliss to win the title, her first championship win in WWE.[156] In a rematch between the two that took place a month later on September 16 at Hell in a Cell,[157] Rousey once again submitted Bliss to retain the title.[158]
Throughout her championship reign, Rousey went on to fend off title contenders such as Nikki Bella (in the main event of the first all women's pay-per-view Evolution on October 28),[159][160][161]Mickie James,[162] Nia Jax,[163][164]Natalya,[165][166] and Sasha Banks.[167][168][169][170] Rousey was supposed to face Becky Lynch at the Survivor Series pay-per-view in an interbrand champion vs. champion match, but Lynch was legitimately injured during an invasion angle just minutes after she attacked Rousey backstage.[171] At the event on November 18, Rousey faced Charlotte Flair instead, and won via disqualification after Flair attacked her with a kendo stick and steel chairs.[172] A month later, at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 16, Rousey gained revenge against both Flair and Lynch as she pushed them off a ladder during their match, also helping Asuka win the SmackDown Women's Championship.[173] Shortly after she retained her title against Bayley on the January 28, 2019, episode of Raw, Rousey continued her feud with Becky Lynch (who had won the Royal Rumble match) after the latter chose to challenge her in a title match at WrestleMania 35.[174][175][176][177] On the February 11 episode of Raw, Vince McMahon suspended Lynch for 60 days in storyline and announced Charlotte Flair replaced Lynch as Rousey's WrestleMania opponent.[178] On the March 4 episode of Raw, Rousey turned heel for the first time in her career when she attacked both Flair and Lynch.[179] At Fastlane on March 10, Lynch faced Flair in a match where if Lynch won, she would be inserted back into the Raw Women's Championship match at WrestleMania. Rousey attacked Lynch during the match, giving Lynch the disqualification victory and thus a WrestleMania triple threat match between Rousey, Flair, and Lynch was made official.[180] On March 25, WWE announced Rousey's title defense against Lynch and Flair would be the main event of WrestleMania 35, making it the first women's match to close WrestleMania.[181] At the event on April 7, in what was changed to a Winner Takes All match for Rousey's Raw and Flair's SmackDown Women's Championships, Lynch controversially pinned Rousey to win both titles. The commentary and production team commented that Rousey was in the ring saying her shoulders were not down for the full three-count and showed a replay of the ending pin-pointing this fact.[182] Nonetheless, this gave Rousey her first loss in WWE and ended her championship reign at 231 days; it would remain the longest reign as Raw Women's Champion until Lynch's own would surpass Rousey's.[183]
SmackDown Women's Champion (2022)
On January 29, 2022, at the Royal Rumble, Rousey returned to WWE as a face, entering at No. 28 in the Women's Royal Rumble match and eliminating Brie Bella, Nikki A.S.H, and Shotzi. She won by last eliminating Charlotte Flair, thus earning a championship match at WrestleMania 38.[184] On the February 4 episode of SmackDown (her first appearance on the SmackDown brand), Rousey chose to challenge Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania 38.[185][186] At Elimination Chamber on February 19, Rousey and Naomi defeated Flair and Sonya Deville.[187] Rousey's rift with Flair continued over the next few weeks, and on the first night of WrestleMania 38 on April 2, Flair defeated Rousey to retain the title, ending Rousey's undefeated singles streak and giving Rousey her second loss.[188] On the following SmackDown, Rousey challenged Flair to an "I Quit" match, which she declined.[189] However, the match was subsequently granted and scheduled for WrestleMania Backlash on May 8,[190] where Rousey defeated Flair to win the title.[191]
On the May 13 episode of SmackDown, she retained her title against Raquel Rodriguez in an open challenge.[192] At Money in the Bank on July 2, Rousey retained her title against Natalya, but after the match, Liv Morgan successfully cashed in her Money in the Bank contract on Rousey, ending her reign at 55 days.[193] Rousey then challenged Morgan for the title at SummerSlam 2022.[194][195] At the event on July 30, Rousey lost to Morgan in controversial fashion, with Morgan winning by pinfall despite submitting to Rousey's armbar while her shoulders were down. After the match, Rousey attacked Morgan and the referee, turning heel for the first time since 2019.[196] As a result of attacking the referee, Rousey was (kayfabe) suspended from WWE.[197] After her suspension was lifted, Rousey won a fatal five-way elimination match on the September 9 episode of SmackDown to earn a rematch against Morgan for the SmackDown Women's Championship at Extreme Rules.[198] The following week, Morgan challenged Rousey to an Extreme Rules match for the title, which Rousey accepted.[199][200] At the event on October 8, Rousey defeated Morgan to win her second SmackDown Women's Championship.[201]
On the October 28 episode of SmackDown, Rousey retained her title against the returning Emma in an open challenge.[202] At Survivor Series: WarGames on November 26, Rousey retained her title against Shotzi with help from Shayna Baszler.[203] On the December 30 episode of SmackDown, Rousey retained her title against Raquel Rodriguez. After the match, Rousey was confronted by the returning Charlotte Flair, who challenged Rousey to an impromptu title match, which she accepted. Rousey ended up losing the title to Flair in under a minute, ending her second reign at 83 days.[204]
Storyline with Shayna Baszler and first retirement (2023)
After a brief hiatus, Rousey returned on the February 10 episode of SmackDown to help Shayna Baszler attack Liv Morgan and Tegan Nox, officially beginning an alliance between the two.[205] On Night 2 of WrestleMania 39, Rousey and Baszler won the women's WrestleMania Showcase fatal four-way tag team match despite Rousey barely being involved in the match due to a fractured elbow.[206] As part of the 2023 WWE Draft, Rousey and Baszler were drafted to the Raw brand as a team.[207][208] On the May 29 episode of Raw, Rousey and Baszler won a fatal four-way tag team match for the vacant WWE Women's Tag Team Championship; Rousey also became the eighth WWE Women's Triple Crown Champion in the process.[209] On the June 23 episode of SmackDown, Rousey and Baszler defeated Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn to unify the WWE and NXT Women's Tag Team Championships, with the latter retired in the process.[210] At Money in the Bank, Rousey and Baszler lost the tag team title to Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez when Baszler turned on her, ending their reign at 32 days.[211] Rousey lost to Baszler at SummerSlam in an MMA Rules match by technical submission, a match that was panned by fans. This was Rousey's first WWE loss by submission (even though she actually didn't tap out). After the match, it was reported that she was leaving WWE,[212][213] however, this was not confirmed and she was listed on the active roster page on WWE.com until October 28 when she was moved to the alumni section.[214] Just prior on her Instagram on October 11, Rousey said she had retired.[215] During the promotion of her first autobiography, Rousey criticized her time in WWE and Vince McMahon. She also pointed that she retired due the amount of concussions she had during her time as an MMA fighter.[216][217]
On October 28, Wrestling Revolver (REVOLVER) announced that Rousey would be making her REVOLVER debut on November 16 at their Unreal event in Los Angeles, California. At the event, she and Shafir wrestled the team of Athena and Billie Starkz to a no contest. The following night during the ROH Honor Club TV tapings, Rousey made her Ring of Honor (ROH) debut, where she and Shafir defeated Athena and Starkz in a rematch.[220]
Other ventures
In January 2022, Rousey was among the top 20 richest MMA fighters with US$12 million net worth. She was the only woman in the top 20.[221]
Magazine appearances
Rousey appeared nude on the cover of ESPN The Magazine's 2012 Body Issue and in a pictorial therein.[222]
In May 2013, Rousey was ranked 29 on the Maxim Hot 100.[223] She also appeared on the cover and in a pictorial of the September 2013 issue.
In 2015, Rousey became the first woman featured on the cover of Australian Men's Fitness, appearing on their November edition.[224]
Rousey was on the cover of the January 2016 issue for The Ring magazine. She became the first mixed martial artist to ever appear on the cover of the boxing magazine and the second woman as well, after Cathy Davis in 1978.[225] In February 2016, she appeared in body paint as one of three cover athletes on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.[226]
Rousey co-starred in The Expendables 3 (2014), marking her first role in a major motion picture.[26] In 2015, she appeared in the film Furious 7, and played herself in the film Entourage.[27][227]
In October 2015, Rousey became the first female athlete to guest host ESPN's SportsCenter.[228]
Rousey appeared in the Season 2, Episode 20 episode of Blindspot playing the role of Devon Penberthy, a prison inmate serving time for transporting weapons across state lines.[231]
A number of starring film roles have been developed for Rousey, including an adaptation of her autobiography, My Fight / Your Fight, at Paramount,[232]The Athena Project at Warner Bros.,[232] the Peter Berg-directed action film Mile 22.[233] Rousey was scheduled to star in a remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze action drama Road House. Road House would have marked her biggest acting job to date. According to Variety, Rousey reached out to Swayze's widow, Lisa Niemi, to ask for her blessing, which Niemi gave.[234] However, the Road House project was cancelled in 2016.[235]
On August 18, 2019, it was revealed that Rousey is appearing as a recurring character Lena Bosko in the third season of Fox's 9-1-1 series.[236] During her first day of shooting, she injured two fingers after her left hand was jammed in a boat door. The tip of her ring finger was fractured while her middle finger was broken with the tendon nearly severed. Rousey was rushed to the hospital, where her middle finger was mended with a metal plate and screws.[237]
In September 2021, Rousey hosted Rowdy's Places on ESPN+. This ten-episode limited series saw Ronda speak with experts within the worlds of MMA, wrestling, boxing and more to uncover why combat sports have been a global sensation for a millennium.[238]
On January 17, 2019, it was confirmed that Rousey would be voicing Sonya Blade in the video game Mortal Kombat 11.[246] On February 18, 2020, Rousey announced her first stream on Facebook Gaming and donated all stream profits to charity.[247] On November 30, 2022, Rousey was added as a playable character to the game Raid: Shadow Legends.[248]
Rousey became a vegan after Beijing 2008,[250][251] but in 2012 described her diet as "kind of a mix between a Paleo and a Warrior diet."[252]
Rousey has discussed how she struggled with her body image in the past. 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.[253]
In January 2013, Rousey posted a video to her Twitter page advocating a conspiracy theory surrounding the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which had occurred the month prior, stating in her caption that the video was "extremely interesting" and a "must-watch". After receiving criticism from the general public, Rousey deleted the video and posted another tweet saying that "asking questions and doing research is more patriotic than blindly accepting what you're told." Rousey's manager later issued a public apology for Rousey's posts surrounding the shooting.[254][255] Rousey issued an apology in 2024.[256]
Rousey once dated fellow UFC fighter Brendan Schaub.[261] In August 2015, Rousey was rumored to be in a relationship with 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 in July 2015.[262] Browne confirmed he and Rousey were together in October 2015.[263] The next day, Rousey revealed that she was dating Browne.[264]
Rousey and Browne got engaged on April 20, 2017, in New Zealand[265] and married on August 28, 2017, in Browne's home state of Hawaii.[266] On April 21, 2021, Rousey announced on her official YouTube channel that she was four months pregnant with her first child.[267][268] On September 27, 2021, Rousey gave birth to a girl named La’akea Makalapuaokalanipō Browne.[269] On July 25, 2024, Rousey announced that she is expecting her second child with Browne.[270] On January 9, 2025, Rousey gave birth to second child, a girl
named Liko’ula Pā’ūomahinakaipiha Browne.[271]
In her autobiography, My Fight / Your Fight, Rousey wrote of an incident with a former boyfriend she dubbed "Snappers McCreepy" after she discovered that he had taken nude photos of her without her consent or knowledge, two weeks before her first fight with Miesha Tate. When a seething Rousey met him, she "slapped him across the face so hard [her] hand hurt". According to Rousey, he then refused to let her leave as he was trying to explain, so she attacked his face with two punches, one more slap, one knee, then "tossed him aside on the kitchen floor". She went to her car and he followed, grabbing the steering wheel, so she "dragged him out onto the sidewalk, and left him writhing there". Rousey deleted the photos and erased his hard drive, but fear that the pictures may still be out there influenced her to pose for ESPN magazine's Body Issue so that nude pictures of her would be seen on her own terms.[272][273][274][275] Rousey faced criticism from some who thought she had committed domestic abuse.[276]
^Strode, Cory (January 28, 2018). "Full Royal Rumble Coverage". PWInsider. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
^MMAjunkie Staff (January 31, 2015). "2014 World MMA Awards winners". mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on December 26, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
^Meltzer, Dave (February 2023). "February 2023 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Results of the 2022 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards". Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
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