Ronda Rousey was named the eighth-highest earning female athlete in the world in a recent study conducted by Forbes.
The UFC women’s bantamweight champion was the lone combat sports competitor to grace the list, breaking into the top-10 with estimated “salary, winnings, appearances, licensing and endorsements” earnings of $6.5 million from June 2014 to June 2015.
Rousey (12-0) saw her stock skyrocket over the study’s 12-month window, propelled in large part by a pair of victories in a combined 30 seconds of fight time. Rousey defended her UFC title with a stunning 16-second knockout of Alexis Davis in July 2014, then topped herself with an even more ridiculous 14-second submission of Cat Zingano in Feb. 2015.
The latter victory over Zingano cemented Rousey as a legitimate pay-per-view star. Despite its relatively lackluster undercard, UFC 184 sold nearly 600,000 estimated buys — a number that, had it come just two months earlier, would have made it the highest-selling pay-per-view of 2014.
Forbes estimated that Rousey drew $3 million in fight earnings and $3.5 million in endorsement earnings over the course of the study. Within that time frame, Rousey appeared in three big budget films — The Expendables 3, Fast and Furious 7, and Entourage — and landed endorsement campaigns with Reebok, Metro PCS, Monster headphones, and Buffalo David Bitton, among others.
Rousey’s latest title defense, a dramatic 34-second knockout of Bethe Correia at UFC 190, is expected to be the highest-selling UFC pay-per-view thus far in 2015, with a final buyrate that may approach seven figures. The performance, coupled with an increase in attention from mainstream audiences, vaulted Rousey into a level of fame that is rare to see in mixed martial arts.
She announced a new ad campaign with fast food chain Carl’s Jr. following the Correia fight. She also inked a deal with Paramount Pictures to produce and star in a film based around her best-selling autography, My Fight/Your Fight, along with landing a future role on the Mark Wahlberg led Mile 22.
Rousey is undefeated in her mixed martial arts career and has yet to be taken past the third round. She has defended her UFC title six straight times, with the last four of those title defenses ending in 66 seconds or less. Her next fight is unannounced as of this writing, but is expected to be a third date with former Strikeforce titleholder Miesha Tate.
Tennis star Maria Sharapova topped Forbes’ list, totaling earnings of $29.7 million. Rousey was one of just three non-tennis players to make it into the top-10, joining NASCAR driver Danica Patrick (No. 4) and golfer Stacy Lewis (No. 9).