UFC star Ronda Rousey is training the daughter of actor Vin Diesel personally, teaching the seven-year-old Hania Riley Diesel judo to turn her into a “beast.”
Speaking to WENN (h/t Damon Martin of Fox Sports), Diesel made the decision to start training his daughter with an eye on her future and called on Rousey, who starred alongside him in Furious 7, to help:
“First of all, I feel sorry for anyone that has to (date my daughter). I wouldn’t want that on my worst enemy because I’m just that kind of dad. I’ve been thinking about this since the day I cut the umbilical cord, and because of that, I made a decision early on that I was going to do everything in my power to empower her to handle it herself.
“Because of her ‘auntie’ Ronda Rousey, she is now an orange belt with stripes in judo. I’m dealing with it early. I’m creating a beast, and I want her to be able to say ‘No means no.'”
The 48-year-old actor and Rousey became friends on the set of Furious 7, and it seems the friendship hasn’t suffered since.
Rousey, the undefeated UFC women’s bantamweight champion, has quickly turned her dominance in the Octagon into mainstream fame, with roles in the new Entourage film and The Expendables 3.
Stars one wouldn’t normally associate with combat sports have also noticed, as pop star Demi Lovato even dedicated a line in one of her songs to the 28-year-old:
Rousey hasn’t lost sight of her main career, however. She’ll look to defend her title and keep her undefeated streak going against Holly Holm at UFC 193 on November 15, the first time she’ll step into the Octagon since her complete demolition of Bethe Correia.
She remains the most dominant female fighter the UFC has ever seen. In her six bouts with the organisation, she has managed to put all but one of her opponents away in the first round, with Miesha Tate lasting until the third at UFC 168.
Holm presents a different challenge as a former boxing star, who can use her length and excellent footwork to keep Rousey at a distance. But even she is expected to fall quickly at the hands of Rousey, who has looked close to unbeatable for years now.
Diesel’s daughter Hania Riley couldn’t have asked for a better self-defence instructor, and the fact that she’s already up to an orange belt at the age of seven is impressive.
Rousey also started training in judo at an early age, resulting in a bronze medal at the Olympics and a superb MMA career, so perhaps the same may be in store for her latest pupil at some point in the future.
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