Ronda Rousey has been one of the most dominant fighters in the UFC ever since joining the brand. Her vicious armbar has quickly become one of the most feared submissions in MMA and is a big reason she’s undefeated—she has won all eight of her fights via armbar submission.
When she meets Sara McMann in the Octagon at UFC 170, Rousey will be faced with an Olympic wrestler, but that’s not something she can’t handle, as she is not only a submission expert, but an Olympic judoka herself.
The women’s champion is extremely well-versed in judo, a discipline that typically matches up well with wrestling. Rousey uses the discipline‘s different throws and hip tosses to set up her submissions, which we’ve seen her utilize in the UFC on many occasions.
Rousey‘s keen sense of timing that was developed by her judo training will be of much help in this fight. Being able to feel when McMann is about to shoot in for a single or double will only bolster her chances of getting the advantage and locking in her dreaded armbar.
Rousey, also known to dole out some stinging punches in the past, showed much improvement in her striking in her fight against Miesha Tate.
It’s unlikely the champion will never be known for being a striking specialist, but rounding out her game has helped her to become a better overall fighter and certainly opens up some doors for her grappling.
Rousey has been training with a former Olympic wrestler who is the head wrestling coach at her training center. Shayna Baszler (Rousey‘s training partner) believes that training with the former Olympian will give her the edge in this fight should McMann go in for a takedown, according to sherdog.com.
Baszler argues that men’s Olympic wrestling is “much more competitive,” and the fact that Rousey is training with a former competitor makes her prepared for whatever McMann will throw at her:
She’s going to be seeing a lot of the same looks, and I’m going to go so far as to say men’s wrestling at the Olympic level is far more competitive than the women’s wrestling. She might be getting even better looks, by some accounts. She’s got answers.
That all being said, McMann may not even get a chance to shoot on Rousey.
The women’s bantamweight champion has yet to much of her skill set, simply because she hasn’t had to. Rousey‘s armbar is often set up by her throws, and McMann will need to be wary if she is to shoot in on her as she could get flipped and thrown into Rousey‘s signature submission rather easily.
She’s been an unstoppable force that has ended all her fights in the first round (excluding her three-round fight versus Tate) via armbar, and is expected to dominate McMann. That’s not to discount McMann‘s 7-0 record, but she hasn’t been nearly as dominant as Rousey has been.
Rowdy Rousey will once again go to work against a lesser opponent and will undoubtedly prove victorious.
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