I could go all Joe Rogan on you and claim that Ronda Rousey is a monster, but I’ll resist. However, I will say this, Ronda Rousey is both good and bad for women’s MMA.
Now, before you tear that notion apart, hear me out on this one. I do have a point to make, I’m not just throwing this theory out there without some thought.
Rousey has fought nine times in her MMA career, six as a professional and three as an amateur, and she has finished each of those nine fights by slapping on an armbar and submitting her opponent within the first round.
At this point everyone knows her game plan. Everyone knows the one move they have to defend against and yet they are powerless to do so.
Imagine an NFL team got a hold of their opposition’s playbook a week before a game. Scratch that, imagine an NFL team got a list of the plays their opposition was going to run and the order they were going to run them in two days before the game.
Don’t you think they would be able to prepare for that and shut the other team down? Of course they would.
The difference is that Rousey’s opponents haven’t had mere days to get ready for a series of holds, they have had months to get ready for a single move and yet, try as they may, they can’t stop her armbar.
Some will argue that the level of competition in women’s MMA is too shallow to make up for the gap between Rousey and any potential opponents. There may be some legitimacy to that argument, but I would say while that may be somewhat true, it’s not entirely the case.
That argument is akin to the stance the detractors of UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones take when they say Jones is only successful due to the size and reach advantage he has over his opponents. It takes the positive of their superiority and turns it into a negative. Frankly, those arguments are pathetic ways to deny the rightful praise that should be given to Rousey and Jones.
So, why is Rousey both good and bad for the sport?
Rousey’s run will generate interest in WMMA. It’s probably not unfair to say that much like Royce Gracie’s run during the early days of the UFC inspired many to train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Rousey’s dominance will inspire many younger women to train in MMA and that’s great. The more women involved, the more the sport will progress.
The popularity of the Strikeforce champion could also have a trickle down effect on other fight promotions that feature WMMA. For Strikeforce, Rousey’s surging popularity will equal eyes on the fight cards, more people will tune in to see exactly what she will do next and if her run of arm collecting can continue unabated.
Rousey is also a PR dream, she’s well spoken, engaging, has a sense of humor and that Olympic bronze medal doesn’t hurt her either. She has appeared in magazines and on talk shows pushing the sport on the masses (and most likely will continue to do so).
As for the negative, we have already seen some of this come out. Her trash talk has taken on an almost comical feel as she threatened Sarah Kaufman, saying (per MMAjunkie.com):
If I get her in an armbar, I’m going to try to rip it off and throw it at her corner…If I get her in a choke, I’m going to hold onto it until she’s actually dead. And if I get a knockout, I’m going to go all the way. I’m going to try to pound her face into the ground and she’s depending on the competence of the California (State) Athletic Commission to walk out of that cage alive.
In a sport that’s still reaching for mainstream acceptance, a soundbite promising over the top violence helps no one. That approach needs to be reigned in.
We have also started to see some backlash against Rousey, much like we have seen for Jones. The reason for this may be twofold. Some may see her personality as too much, like Chael Sonnen kicked up a few more notches. Others will fall victim to the societal trend of wanting to see the wildly successful fail.
The other possible drawback is that her dominance could actually result in fewer eyes on the fights after a while. If everyone knows what the outcome may be, are they going to “waste” their time sitting around on Saturday nights to watch under a minute of action?
Rousey’s supremacy puts her in a very odd position, and I can see both the good and the bad side to that. With that being said, a dominant champion with a strong personality and the ability to sell the sport outside the realm of the hardcore fan is where the positives will outweigh the negatives.
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