Ronda Rousey Not Ditching UFC for Hollywood, Looks to Balance the Two

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey probably has plenty of roles on the silver screen ahead of her, but that doesn’t automatically mean her days in the Octagon are numbered just yet. 
Rousey told a group of reporters at the Glendale Fig…

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey probably has plenty of roles on the silver screen ahead of her, but that doesn’t automatically mean her days in the Octagon are numbered just yet. 

Rousey told a group of reporters at the Glendale Fighting Club, per MMA Fighting, that they didn’t have to worry about her hanging up the gloves any time soon.

I’m a fighter,” Rousey said. “I enjoy fighting. I was doing judo for a decade and a half for pretty much no money. If money was really was important to me, I might be a stockbroker right now … It would be nice to do something a little different, and miss it. By the time I do a lot of movie stuff, it would be, ‘oh my god, it’s cool and all,’ but I’m tired of getting my makeup done every day and they’re destroying my hair and I just want to get into the gym. … Right now what I enjoy is fighting.

As Variety first reported last week, the “Rowdy” one has been signed on to two high-profile Warner Bros. films: Athena Project, based on Brad Thor’s New York Times bestselling book, and Entourage, following up on the popular HBO series. 

While Rousey trained for her UFC 168 bout with Miesha Tate, she filmed roles in both The Expendables 3 and Fast and Furious 7.

The 27-year-old fearsome grappler fights for the second time in under two months at UFC 170 when she takes on fellow former Olympic medalist Sara McMann, the No. 4-ranked women’s competitor in the UFC’s official rankings

The women’s title fight will headline the February 22 card at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. 

Both competitors enter the title tilt with an unblemished record, with Rousey boasting an 8-0 ledger, all finishes via her signature armbar, and McMann coming in with a 7-0 mark (four finishes). 

While some pundits are giving McMann a chance due to her high-level wrestling, size and strength, others are writing her off as just another victim given her lack of submission grappling skills. 

Are Rousey’s days inside the cage already drawing to a close or will the top pay-per-view draw remain a UFC staple for many years to come?

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

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