Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably noticed that Ronda Rousey has been making the rounds for Zuffa in the media. During the lead up to UFC on Fox 3 she along with Jon Jones and Frankie Edgar opened the NASDAQ on Tuesday morning. She’s also been utilized on Zuffa’s behalf against the California Bill that would force a fighter’s union.
Yesterday, following the UFC on Fox pre-fight press conference, Dana White was asked for his thoughts on Rousey as a fighter and as a person. His response was incredibly in-depth and candid.
She’s a rock star man. She’s been fantastic. She’s been killing it for us. I just hope that we can some really good fights for her. I love Ronda Rousey man. I do.
Our people decide when and where she fights but it’s about finding an opponent. We have to get her an opponent. You guys know I’m not doing anything with Strikeforce anymore. You guys know more than I know.
I think when you have two really good female athletes that are at the same level, yeah absolutely. Would you disagree that Miesha Tate’s probably the best girl in that division that’s out there that she’s fought? She went in there and arm barred her twice in the first two minutes of the fight. I mean, unfortunately, she’s gonna be the Lucia Rijker of MMA. And for those of you that don’t know who Lucia Rijker was, she was the female boxer who was really the best in the world. You’ve heard of Kristi Martin and Layla Ali and all these other people, they wouldn’t fight her. Nobody wanted to fight Lucia Rijker. She was sparring with guys. She was probably the best female boxer ever and nobody knows who the hell she is…nobody knows her name.
Dana is definitely correct in his assessment of Ronda Rousey. She is a rarity in this sport as she has both the pedigree and oratory abilities to garner respect outside of the MMA media. Zuffa recognizes this and has been using Ronda as a spokesperson not just in interviews but also in opportunities that utilize her Olympic background.
It is a shame that she is so ahead of her time as far as competition in the bantamweight division; a fighter like her is a unique talent. If Zuffa does opt to fold Strikeforce once the Showtime deal runs out, I would expect them to continue to showcase Rousey on fight cards in the future. She’s too much of an asset to cut loose.
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