Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey was a megastar in the world of MMA huge huge mainstream crossover appeal. The became the face of the UFC. Rousey is also the reason the UFC started allowing women’s fights at all. In this interview, she reflects on saving women’s MMA and slams all-time great Cris Cyborg.
Ronda Rousey on Women’s MMA
Ronda Rousey was an Olympic medalist and then began competing in MMA in Strikeforce. There, she was celebrated for her trash talk and feud against Miesha Tate. Zuffa, the owning company of the UFC, bought Strikeforce so Rousey made sure to get women into the UFC. Even Dana White admitted that they would never have started the women’s fighting division if it wasn’t for ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey.
Prior to Rousey’s run, the biggest names in women’s MMA were Cris Cyborg and Gina Carano who fought on network TV under Strikeforce. The Brazilian fighter has picked up titles in Invicta, Strikeforce, Bellator, and the UFC, among others. Despite being a trailblazer and an all-time great, Ronda Rousey has no love for Cris Cyborg.
Speaking in an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Rousey explained:
“People forget how fragile that situation was and how last-minute I was able to get us in. Strikeforce was the only organization that was really showcasing women and that was because of Gina Carano, because her dad was involved with the Nevada Athletic Commission and was able to sanction fights for her and all these things.”
Speaking on Cris Cyborg, she said:
“When she was gone, Cris Cyborg’s pumped to the f*cking gills with steroids. No one wants to watch that cheating ass bitch. Everything just tanked. The division was dying. The UFC bought Strikeforce and it was assumed they were just going to absorb all of the male talent that they liked and fold the whole organization, because that’s what they did with PRIDE, that’s what they did with WEC, that was their business model. So there was a matter of time.”
Rousey added:
“It was just a matter of time before they closed the whole thing and there would be nowhere that would showcase women’s MMA, so I had that much time to make sure that Dana [White] couldn’t go a single day without seeing my name somewhere. The rest is history.” [Ht MMAFighting]
Ronda Rousey was able to create a massive amount of attention for women’s MMA with her impressive and quick wins in the UFC. She has since MMA and began competing in WWE professional wrestling.