In October, UFC commentator Joe Rogan said he’d have ‘no problem’ with Rousey, or any woman for that matter, fighting a man of equal weight.
Speaking with ESPN’s Dan Lebatard prior to UFC 184, Rogan may have upped the ante just a bit.
Asked, essentially, how bad a professional male fighter would need to be for Rousey to beat him in a fight, Rogan says she’d be middle of the pack in the UFC’s bantamweight division.
“There’s a lot of guys her size she could beat,” said Rogan. “I mean, a lot. If you took the roster of the UFC’s bantamweights, 135 pounds, and you paired them up against Ronda Rousey, she might be able to beat 50 percent of them. That’s not a joke.”
Admitting he doesn’t believe we’ll ever see Rousey actually fight a man, Rogan brought up female Dutch boxer Lucia Rijker’s ill-fated exhibition bout against a male fighter.
In 1994, Rijker faced 21 year-old New Zealander Somchai Jaidee in a Muay Thai style exhibition match at Sporthalle Zuid in Amsterdam. In a fight that became less competitive with each passing minute, Rijker suffered a rather brutal KO early in round two.
“Lucia Rijker was the woman everyone was ducking,” said Rogan. “She was just a murderous puncher. Fantastic technique. She was beating everybody. She was originally a kickboxer from Holland and she fought a man once and got knocked dead.
“So you were looking at a woman who was beating the daylights out of all these women and she fought a guy who was a decent fighter, but there’s a difference. There’s a difference in the male structure. There’s a difference in the male frame. Testosterone plays a big difference.”
If not for her bone structure, Rogan believes Rousey could likely beat an even bigger share of the men’s division.
“The ability to take punches is a significant difference,” said Rogan. “The structure of the face, the muscles in the neck. Women just cannot take the same kind of punches that men can. That’s the only reason why I only give Ronda a chance at beating 50 percent of the men. If she could take the kind of punches that some of these guys might possibly land it might get up to like 60 percent. She’s a truly special talent.”
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Post show. Ariel Helwani, Marc Raimondi, and Dave Meltzer break down the top storylines coming out of UFC 184.
Female Tyson. UFC president Dana White calls Ronda Rousey ‘the female version’ of former heavyweight champion boxer ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson.
‘We should do this again.’ Seconds after submitting her, Ronda Rousey told Cat Zingano that they’ll fight again in the future.
‘Ronda is from De Mars, women are from Venus.’ Chuck Mindenhall explains why appreciating Ronda Rousey requires only a few seconds of your time.
‘I’ll never look at Anderson as a cheater.’ UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones says he still looks up to former middleweight champion Anderson Silva and that he doesn’t believe Silva used PEDs his entire career.
MEDIA STEW
Octagon interviews with Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano.
Dana White talks Ronda, Holly Holm, Brock Lesnar and more.
UFC 184 post-fight presser highlights. (full presser here)
‘Welcome to the Show’ event highlights. (Full event video here)
Cris Cyborg believe’s she’ll get her chance at Ronda Rousey.
The Gracie Breakdown for Rousey’s armbar.
Long watches.
…
Mentality of Combat Sports – Emotional Burnout, Building Confidence After Performances and More
TWEETS
See how the pros reacted to all the action from UFC 184.
Victory lap.
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) March 1, 2015
Good seeing these monsters @SkylarAstin @ChrisWeidmanUFC @JonnyBones pic.twitter.com/PdkDl3HPN3
— Jake Ellenberger (@EllenbergerMMA) March 1, 2015
You know what time it is! #victorybreakfast is always a must with the Fam Especially when… http://t.co/voyPV2D3bf pic.twitter.com/TD0JLcC8Kv
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) March 1, 2015
@xtfergie Told ya…. “#Berightback” ;o) #OGElCucuy & #MrsCucuy #TeamFerguson #TeamElCucuy… http://t.co/Pn9DEeLGGQ pic.twitter.com/IbD7u4fu6o
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) March 1, 2015
Isn’t everyday thay you are at Staple Center Arena and Vin Diesel came to you and say congrats! Lol…. https://t.co/NwldFOM7Wk
— Roan Jucao (@jucao) March 1, 2015
Esta foto va dedicada para mi familia y amigos y oara todas las personas que hicieron esto posible… https://t.co/PnTiJoIQSF
— Masio fullen (@MasioFullenMMA) March 1, 2015
Better luck next time.
A big thank you to my coaches Marc Fiore, Jason Kutz, and Jonathan Ray for all the time they dedicate into my… http://t.co/ZgqibyD4LT
— Raquel Pennington (@RockyPMMA) March 1, 2015
Sportsmanship #ufc184 #richardwalshmma congrats to Alan https://t.co/5YTFwCNVYw
— Richy Walsh MMA (@RichyMMA) March 1, 2015
Let’s move on! Life is made of battles! https://t.co/Q1Xut1auMx
— Gleison Tibau (@GleisonTibauMMA) March 1, 2015
Thank you for all your support! I will rest up, keep working, & see what’s next. I’m truly grateful for all that support me!
— Mark Muñoz (@mark_munoz) March 1, 2015
Not my night tonight was very prepared but a fight is a fight. Great job @MeansTim. Thank you @ufc for the opportunity. Onto the next!!
— Dhiego Lima (@DhLimaMMA) March 1, 2015
I just watched my neighbors house burn to the ground less than 2 hours after being home. Suddenly my weekend wasn’t so bad.
— James Krause (@TheJamesKrause) March 2, 2015
My neighbors house an hour ago. How do I complain about a fight when this happens? Poor guys. pic.twitter.com/lsWMps6dnp
— James Krause (@TheJamesKrause) March 2, 2015
Aca con el duro de @FastFurious #VinDiesel anoche en #UFC184 pic.twitter.com/nPmleaNJzT
— Alex Rolo Torres (@RoloTorres145) March 1, 2015
…
BROCK has arrived at #UFC184 pic.twitter.com/ykbpJPSlll
— Dave Sholler (@Sholler_UFC) March 1, 2015
Respect.
Congrats @RondaRousey quick fights are fun! #14seconds #12seconds @UFC #UFC184 http://t.co/6hzRYoTqAR pic.twitter.com/vqn2zMyroS
— Johny Hendricks (@JohnyHendricks) March 1, 2015
Congrats on the fastest submission in the @ufc @RondaRousey Now it’s time to attempt to beat my fastest @ufc KO! 🙂 #MMA
— Andrei Arlovski (@AndreiArlovski) March 1, 2015
Ive had a few quick wins in my day but 14sec is something to bow down to! Hard to just get to ur opponent in that time! #UFC184 @RondaRousey
— Mike Quick Swick (@officialswick) March 1, 2015
“@kellanlutz: @ginacarano and I are SPEECHLESS @RondaRousey !!! Congrats Champ!!! Much Love! pic.twitter.com/QUaM6TfKID“
— Gina Carano (@ginacarano) March 1, 2015
Cyborg.
Leaving @ufc with a smile because I know God will not allow any person to keep you from your destiny. They may be… http://t.co/Tl40Zbpn4m
— Cris Cyborg (@criscyborg) March 1, 2015
175lbs after my sunday breakfast Diet Coach @Lockloaded do I Really have to go Running monday?!?! pic.twitter.com/tYewn7umKS
— Cris Cyborg (@criscyborg) March 1, 2015
Next?
Unbeaten! I’m the only one in the ranking with three straight wins and who never had the chance to… https://t.co/sL5gMNc3vS
— Bethe (@bethecorreia) March 2, 2015
Please do.
The ref asked me if I thought Mark Munoz was out too long and this was my response. #occularfixation https://t.co/pqFk2iF3pu
— Rener Gracie (@RenerGracie) March 1, 2015
Always Sunny.
It’s alway sunny in LA @RMcElhenney @kaitlin_olson Great drinking with you’ll! Good people pic.twitter.com/zwF9dF6C4Z
— Cowboy Cerrone (@Cowboycerrone) March 1, 2015
Whoa.
Return to #octagon in t-35 days #HWPO #FightNight63 #FairfaxVirginia #April4 http://t.co/hYtJl5Sdep pic.twitter.com/jd0Slb3RP6
— Julianna Peña (@VenezuelanVixen) March 2, 2015
Watch out.
Slipping hats and cashing cheques with Uncle Frank. pic.twitter.com/nEv3oLO2dW
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 1, 2015
@TheNotoriousMMA Ha! That is incredible! https://t.co/MkQ6iArKXB
— Cathal Pendred (@PendredMMA) March 1, 2015
Poor guys.
Not again… @JonnyBones vs. @Anthony_Rumble on May 23!!!! pic.twitter.com/RPaIKGeyra
— Dave Sholler (@Sholler_UFC) February 28, 2015
“@danawhite: I was thinking “HOLY SHIT this is not happening” @jonnybones @Anthony_Rumble @ufc #UFC187 pic.twitter.com/cbfWtnNViF” hahahahaha!!
— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) March 2, 2015
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (Feb. 27- March 3 2015)
NA
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes via mathias1.
Ronda Rousey is now the undisputed #1 pound-for-pound fighter in MMA
I almost cringe calling Ronda Rousey an “MMA fighter,” because for me that carries certain implications:
Watered down martial arts, wall and stall, lay and pray, leg kicks for days, point fighting, etc.
She is very intelligent in the cage. She doesn’t “point fight.” She looks to end the fight quickly, sparing herself unnecessary damage, by using the Judo she’s spent years perfecting. In point of fact, by doing this, she has mostly spared her opponents from incurring unnecessary damage over the course of a potential 25 minute match.
It’s one of the reasons I’ve always personally felt that grappling is far superior to striking. She won that fight without throwing a single strike.
The armbar she used to stop Cat Zingano at UFC 184 was brilliant, and it was applied calmly and smoothly. It had the feel of improvisation to it. Just awesome stuff.
She’s undefeated, and to state what should now be completely obvious…unchallenged. No one comes close.
…
Check out the rest of the post here.
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