There are people who are incredibly curious about how Ronda Rousey would do in a fight against a man. They’re never going to find out.
Doug Gottlieb asked the UFC women’s bantamweight how close her fighting a male was to becoming a reality Thursday and Rousey bristled at the question.
“It’s not a reality,” Rousey said. “They’re not gonna do anything like that. Fights are chaotic. Anything can happen. And there’s no setting in which we should condone a man hitting a woman.”
UFC president Dana White joked about Rousey fighting a man before and after Rousey’s 14-second destruction of Cat Zingano at UFC 184 on Saturday in Los Angeles. But that’s all it was — a joke.
Even if he were serious, Rousey (11-0) would absolutely not be down for it.
“I really just don’t think that any athletic commission on Earth would ever condone something like that,” Rousey said. “Fights are going to go both ways. You’re going to see both people hitting each other. I don’t think we should celebrate a man hitting a woman in any kind of setting.”
Rousey’s mother AnnMaria De Mars, a former judo world champion, sounded off on the topic after the UFC 184 post-fight press conference to a gathering of reporters.
“That’s a stupid idea,” she said. “Seriously, that’s a stupid idea. I’m as much a feminist as anyone but the fact is that biologically, there’s a difference between men and women. Hello, duh. A woman who is 135 pounds and a man who is 135 pounds are not physically equal.”
UFC color commentator Joe Rogan said last week that he believed Rousey, 28, could possibly beat 50 percent of men in the UFC’s bantamweight division. Rousey said on ESPN on Thursday morning that theoretically she could beat anyone under the right circumstance.
“I would have to say if you’re just talking about what’s in the realm of possibility of what’s possible of who I could beat, well I could beat 100 percent of them,” Rousey said. “You can’t tell me that there’s a zero percent chance that I can beat anyone on the planet, so I’m never gonna say that.”
Gottlieb pressed the issue of fighting a male with Rousey on his show Thursday, saying it would be a big victory for women if she were to defeat a guy. Rousey didn’t take the bait.
“Me fighting a man will change the perception of a women being an inferior creature?” Rousey said. “Is that what you’re saying? I really don’t think that’s necessary.”