Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey is the greatest female mixed martial artist in the world. At just 28 years old, she has achieved what was once unimaginable and changed the world’s perception of women in combat sports. Already an established athlete and world champion, she is also a revered figure in popular culture. Appearances in big-budget Hollywood films like The Expendables 3 and Furious 7 have made her one of the most recognized women in the world.
She’s driven, smart and knows exactly what she wants. She told the UFC: “I want to be the undisputed best woman in the world in MMA, and I want to do it while looking great and being entertaining. I want to bring women’s MMA to the same level of respect as the men’s, and I feel like if there’s something you want to accomplish, you have to do it yourself.”
There is nothing more powerful than a woman who does what she loves and does it well. The California-born star is a high achiever with the right attitude. Here are eighteen great reasons why she is a truly inspirational female role model.
18 She faced the hard times and came out stronger.
Rousey has been fighting since birth. She was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck and deprived of oxygen, her parents almost lost her. When she was eight, her father broke his back after catching Rousey and her sister in a fall. Learning he would be a sufferer for the rest of his life, he took his own life.
She dropped out of school early and couldn’t live a normal life. She became a professional fighter, but shortly after the 2008 Beijing Olympics she was out of work and had nowhere to live. To get back on her feet, she took a job at 24 Hour Fitness but later quit so she could go back to an MMA gym. The rest is record-breaking history.
7 She doesn’t turn back to bully
Rousey has endured bullies for much of her life. Having a healthy physique as a young girl, she was picked on at school, recalling: “People would joke and call me ‘Miss Man.’ It wasn’t until I got older that I realized: These people are idiots. It’s awesome.” This is exactly the attitude everyone should have when it comes to haters.
Even as we get older, we still face bullies. At a press conference, Mayweather called out Rousey by pretending he didn’t know who she was. He said of the prospect of fighting her, “Whoever she is, I wish her nothing but the best. Good luck with everything. I’m not afraid to go up against a woman for once.” Not being afraid to go up against Mayweather – that’s the kind of girl we are.
16 She celebrates every muscle in her body.
Rousey coined a brilliant new term when she encouraged girls to never be: “No b***h”. In a pre-fight speech uploaded to YouTube, she said: “I think it’s funny if someone says my body looks masculine or something, I’m like; ‘Listen, just because my body is built for something other than f**king millionaires, doesn’t mean it’s masculine. I think it’s a feminine b**ss is f**k because there’s not a muscle on my body that’s not for a purpose because I’m not a f**king nobody.'”
Her speech honoring her muscular strength, delivered during Beyonce’s Made in America Festival performance. When Beyonce comes to you with inspirational quotes, that’s when you know you’re a true force for women.
15 She Gets Things Done – Fast
Her last three fights combined have lasted a total of 64 seconds. Of her twelve mixed martial arts fights, ten have not even made it into the second round. She is undefeated and has three knockouts. She told the UFC: “I’m happy with the way things are going. If I could go the rest of my career without going out in the first round, I wouldn’t complain. I think winning in 30 seconds is pretty neat.”
Brazilian MMA fighter Bethe Correia made a huge mistake when she mocked Rousey’s father’s suicide during the countdown to their fight. Rousey used the group as motivation throughout the fight and Correria was knocked out after 34 seconds.
14 She brought home a large sum of money.
Not only is Rousey the first female UFC world champion, but she also has a pay package to match. According to Fortune, her last fight against Bethe Correia netted her $120,000 buyout on top of a $50,000 “performance of the night” bonus. It’s estimated that she made $1 million for her previous fight with Cat Zingano.
Sponsorships also earn Rousey around $3 million a year. Then there are her cameos in Hollywood movies—it all adds up to make her a hot commodity.
13 She is not shy
Long gone are the days when women would be discouraged from talking about our sexuality. Rousey has never been shy about coming forward as a red-blooded woman. She has said that her pre-fight ritual is sex because it naturally increases a woman’s testosterone levels.
12 She always represents her true self.
There’s nothing more admirable than a woman who makes no apologies for showing who she really is. Rousey has her fair share of hate, but like many people who pay attention, the people trying to ruin her name have never even met her. She told UFC: “If someone who I’m never going to meet is making a wrong judgment about me based on very little information, that’s really not my problem, so I don’t really feel bad about it.
11 She is the greatest trash talker
She has been dubbed the “trash-talking titan” by many sports magazines. When she’s not staring down her opponents, she’s shooting them down with her vicious tongue.
Despite this, she’s always had an easy time speaking. In an interview with NPR’s Abbie Cornish, she revealed, “I had a lot of trouble speaking as a kid. I didn’t really speak coherent sentences until I was 6. There was a long period of time when people were really worried, because my sisters were so advanced for their age and I was barely talking.” She went through years of speech therapy to overcome her speech impediments to become the person she is today.
10 She is a nature enthusiast.
It’s unusual to find out that the world’s scariest woman is also a die-hard Pokemon fan. She told Sports Illustrated, “I’ve gotten every single version of every generation of the game.” She even confessed that she has a crush on Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z, which is my favorite anime. She confessed, “Love him. I’m going to go get him.”
Come Halloween, she’s always in the mood to show off her inner geek. Previous costumes she’s posted of herself wearing include Sailor Moon and Mutant Ninja Turtles.
9 She is fiercely independent.
Rousey doesn’t need anyone but herself to stay happy. She’s a smart woman who’s more focused on her career, and she admits, “How am I going to schedule another person in my life? I have a free day this month!” Her intense workout regimen also keeps guys away—out of jealousy.
She revealed: “I’m pretty sweaty and roll around with different people all day. I need a guy who can trust me completely and won’t be jealous. I’m waiting for a guy who has the courage to handle it all himself – and I don’t need to hold his hand and walk him through it. You’ve been told that, guys.
8 She holds the title of World’s Most Dominant Athlete
Not many people could argue with Sports Illustrated when they named Rousey the “Most Dominant Athlete in the World.” She can pick out any opponent and eliminate them in seconds. The title was previously held by retired boxer Mike Tyson, who is a fan of hers and has gone on record saying he can see himself in Rousey.
Her performances were so strong that she eventually convinced UFC President Dana White to give women’s MMA the big push it needed. Since then, many have complained that Rousey’s fights are over before they even begin, but that hasn’t slowed her down.
7 She previously won an Olympic medal in Judo.
On top of the mountain of achievements to her name, Rousey can also claim bragging rights for the bronze Olympic medal she won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She was defeated by Japan’s Masae Ueno and Cuba’s Anaysi Hernandez, but we’re guessing they won’t want to fight her now.
She has previously stated, “I can’t remember not being an athlete. It’s just doing what comes naturally and I feel like I’ve always deserved that respect, but I had to do everything to earn it.”
6 She admits her weaknesses.
Despite her unbreakable exterior, this is a woman who isn’t afraid to admit that she gets scared sometimes. She told UFC, “People tell me all the time, ‘You’re not scared.’ I tell them, ‘No, that’s not true. I’m scared all the time. You have to have fear to have courage.’ I’m a courageous person because I’m a scared person.”
If even Rousey herself can feel anxiety, then we shouldn’t worry so much the next time we’re stuck in panic mode.
5 She focused her mind on winning.
If you are wondering what is the secret to her success, it is all about positive thinking as well as having a body of steel. She has been nurtured all her life to be the best at whatever she sets her mind to and that is the mentality that has seen her reach the pinnacle of success.
“Ever since I was little, my dad told me that if you know how to swim, and you’re a swimmer, you’re going to win the Olympics in swimming,” she recalled. “And I went from swimming to Judo, and I was like, like I was in judo, I’m going to be a judo player and I’m going to win the Olympics in judo. And when I went into MMA, I had the same intention.”
4 She helps other people in need.
A few years ago, Rousey revealed that she had struggled with bulimia and would hide her illness from friends and family. She has since successfully rebuilt her body and become a true fighter. In 2013, she started a clinic called Don’t Throw Up, Throw Down, which encourages women to attend a two-hour clinic that involves mixed martial arts.
Earlier this year, she helped raise funds for the White Jaguar Tiger Foundation, whose goal is to save big cats from a life of circuses and zoos. She helped by auctioning off signed T-shirts and was happy to publicly state that she was a proud animal rights activist.
3 She comes from a background of strong women
Rousey’s mother, AnnMaria De Mars, was an athlete herself. She enjoyed her own success in Judo after becoming the first US citizen to win a world championship for the sport in 1984. Rousey believes that women are stronger when it comes to the battle of the sexes, once saying: “Artists. Let’s just say women have a higher pain tolerance than men.”
Rousey has proudly stated that she gets a lot of her mental strength from her mother. She told UFC of her favorite quote, “My mom has a lot of lines. She also says ‘nobody has the right to hit you, no matter who they are.'”
2 She has no apologies for being overconfident.
There’s a long-standing perception that women shouldn’t brag about their accomplishments and instead maintain an air of humility about them at all times. Well, Rousey is famous for throwing the rulebook right out the window. She even once stated, “If I wasn’t me, I wouldn’t want to fight me because I’m the best female fighter in the world.”
How does she deal with negative press or haters calling her out for such bold statements? She revealed: “Some people like to call me cocky or arrogant, but I just think, how dare you think I should think less of myself? The problem isn’t that I think I can achieve any goal I set for myself, the problem is that you project your self-doubt onto me.”
1 she is so beautiful
There’s no denying that Ronda Rousey is one of the most beautiful women in the world. She has revealed that being 150lbs is when she feels her best, which is a breath of fresh air in a world full of size zero obsessions.
While she has to eat healthy to train like a fighter, she doesn’t obsess over her diet. She says, “Look, there’s nothing wrong with your discipline or you just because you eat whatever. But if the best part of your day is what you eat, then there’s something wrong with your day.” Well, if she’s not counting every calorie, neither are we.
