Tag: Cat Zingano

Recovery Roundup: Anderson Silva & Cat Zingano Cleared to Train, Vitor Belfort Given the Go-Ahead to Fight in Brazil

Good news, Nation! After a disastrous 2013 that saw Anderson Silva‘s fibula and tibia snap like a swizzle stick in the hands of a bartender with Parkinson’s, “The Spider” has been cleared to resume training! And better yet, he’s already set a timetable for his return! Why? Because you can’t keep a champion down, no matter how many times you tell him that he should just enjoy his damn legacy already, that’s why! When will we see him return? And against who? Is my sudden positivity at-all related to the ketamine I just snorted? FIND OUT BELOW.

In an interview with MMA Heat’s Karyn Bryant yesterday, Silva broke the news that he had already been given the go-ahead to resume training and is aiming for a 2015 return, not by the end of the year as Dana White has hoped for:

I’m very exciting because I back for training. My doctor in Brazil say my leg’s good. I’m very happy. And next year, I back.

This year, I no back for fight. I have my plans, I have my family and working hard on my academy in Brazil. So next year, I don’t know when, but next year. 

How I’ve missed that helium-voiced, broken English so.

It’s crazy to think that Silva could presumably start full-on training next week considering it’s been just five months since he lost “by accident” in his rematch with Chris Weidman at UFC 168. While it’s still up in the air whether Silva could be granted an immediate title shot upon his return or not, you almost have to admit that the UFC needs a PPV-draw like him in a time when nearly every champion is recovering from injury.

Speaking of former champions, join us after the jump to hear the latest on former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort and former Ultimate Stretching Champion Cat Zingano.

Good news, Nation! After a disastrous 2013 that saw Anderson Silva‘s fibula and tibia snap like a swizzle stick in the hands of a bartender with Parkinson’s, “The Spider” has been cleared to resume training! And better yet, he’s already set a timetable for his return! Why? Because you can’t keep a champion down, no matter how many times you tell him that he should just enjoy his damn legacy already, that’s why! When will we see him return? And against who? Is my sudden positivity at-all related to the ketamine I just snorted? FIND OUT BELOW.

In an interview with MMA Heat’s Karyn Bryant yesterday, Silva broke the news that he had already been given the go-ahead to resume training and is aiming for a 2015 return, not by the end of the year as Dana White has hoped for:

I’m very exciting because I back for training. My doctor in Brazil say my leg’s good. I’m very happy. And next year, I back.

This year, I no back for fight. I have my plans, I have my family and working hard on my academy in Brazil. So next year, I don’t know when, but next year. 

How I’ve missed that helium-voiced, broken English so.

It’s crazy to think that Silva could presumably start full-on training next week considering it’s been just five months since he lost “by accident” in his rematch with Chris Weidman at UFC 168. While it’s still up in the air whether Silva could be granted an immediate title shot upon his return or not, you almost have to admit that the UFC needs a PPV-draw like him in a time when nearly every champion is recovering from injury.

Speaking of former champions, join us after the jump to hear the latest on former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort and former Ultimate Stretching Champion Cat Zingano.

We haven’t heard much from Vitor Belfort ever since he withdrew from his UFC 173-scheduled title fight with Chris Weidman in the wake of the TRT ban. Although Belfort told MMAFighting last month that he had “passed all the tests that Nevada requires on his own,” he was all but dismissed by Dana White, who claimed that Belfort needed to “solve his problems with the Nevada State Athletic Commission” before he could compete again:

He’s got a lot of work to do. That shit just doesn’t happen like that.  You gotta get on the agenda. He’s got a lot of work to do. He’s fooling himself if that’s what he really thinks, he took a couple of home tests and he’s ready to roll. Or whatever he did.

Funny how when Belfort is fighting for a title, White is the first guy to defend his usage of TRT while claiming that the UFC is “testing the shit out of him,” but the minute he pulls out of said fight, TRT is “his problem.” You just don’t see flip-flopping like that everyday, folks. Unless you follow MMA, that is.

In any case, the Brazilian Athletic Commission’s medical director, Dr. Marcio Tannure, told MMAFighting earlier today that not only has Belfort figured his TRT problems out, but that he has been cleared to fight again in Brazil. And only Brazil:

He can fight here, no problem, but he can’t use TRT. Since he doesn’t have a license to use TRT anymore, he would be tested like any other fighter. Every commission has its standards. I don’t know which test he did and what was the result, so I can’t talk about it and which criteria they’re considering in (Belfort’s) case.

Every time a fighter that tested positive in the past applies for a license in Nevada is tested again, and we will adopt that here as well. This is an interesting criteria, and we will also do it, but (Belfort) never tested positive here.

Just so you know, Belfort recently stated that he “feels like an animal” without TRT thanks to the Holy Spirit, but still feels that his opponents have an advantage over him sans-TRT. So there’s that. Moving on…

To say that it’s been a harrowing year for former bantamweight #1 contender Cat Zingano would be a colossal understatement to say the least. Not only did an ACL tear force her out of a TUF 18 coaching gig (and subsequent title shot against Ronda Rousey) before casual audiences could even learn her name, but in January, her husband Mauricio was found dead after an apparent suicide.

Just over a year (and countless gross knee drain videos) after defeating Miesha Tate to earn said title shot, Zingano has finally been cleared to compete again, posting the following to her Twitter account:

An interesting way of announcing it, but good to hear nonetheless. And wouldn’t you know it, Sarah Kaufman has already stepped up and offered Zingano a “tune up” fight this summer while Ronda Rousey to dispatch fights Alexis Davis at UFC 175. How Canadian of her. That a fight you’d be interested in, Nation?

Oh yeah, almost forgot…

Booyah.

–J. Jones

The Ronda Rousey Problem: Can You Be a Great Champion Without Challengers?


(Rousey puts her game-face on before her 66-second title defense at UFC 170. / Photo by Esther Lin for MMAFighting.com)

By Adam Ackerman

Ronda Rousey is amazing. Simply amazing. The UFC women’s bantamweight champion possesses world-class Judo, and apparently some highly-effective Muay Thai as well. Her propensity for snatching and breaking arms was developed at an age before most kids can ride a bicycle without training wheels. As a competitor, she’s given us very little to criticize. The problem with Rousey is that she may quickly run out of competition. With Sara McMann bumped out of the picture, the women’s 135-pound division currently lacks athletes who can legitimately challenge Ronda’s dominance.

If Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Justino does in fact drop to 135 and is signed to the UFC, a super-fight years in the making could take place. Cyborg is a challenge for any woman, and some men. Her athleticism, power, aggressiveness, and diverse set of skills have brought her nothing but victories for the last nine years (except for that one no-contest).  Needless to say, the former handball player turned fighter may be the biggest — and most profitable — test lurking in the future for Rousey, assuming that Cyborg ever settles her beef with Dana White.

Outside of that, there are painfully few challengers that the UFC could throw at Ronda, and call it a “competitive matchup” with a straight face.

I was beyond excited to see Rousey take on Cat Zingano, whose striking skills and power, purple belt in BJJ, and high-level wrestling background make her more than qualified to give Rousey a great fight. Watching her finish Miesha Tate toward the end of their three-round back-and-forth battle gave me confidence in her abilities to contend for the title. However, after her knee injury and the devastating loss of her husband, she has been sidelined for the time being. According to her manager Ed Soares, however, she could be ready to step back into the cage “as early as June.”


(Rousey puts her game-face on before her 66-second title defense at UFC 170. / Photo by Esther Lin for MMAFighting.com)

By Adam Ackerman

Ronda Rousey is amazing. Simply amazing. The UFC women’s bantamweight champion possesses world-class Judo, and apparently some highly-effective Muay Thai as well. Her propensity for snatching and breaking arms was developed at an age before most kids can ride a bicycle without training wheels. As a competitor, she’s given us very little to criticize. The problem with Rousey is that she may quickly run out of competition. With Sara McMann bumped out of the picture, the women’s 135-pound division currently lacks athletes who can legitimately challenge Ronda’s dominance.

If Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Justino does in fact drop to 135 and is signed to the UFC, a super-fight years in the making could take place. Cyborg is a challenge for any woman, and some men. Her athleticism, power, aggressiveness, and diverse set of skills have brought her nothing but victories for the last nine years (except for that one no-contest).  Needless to say, the former handball player turned fighter may be the biggest — and most profitable — test lurking in the future for Rousey, assuming that Cyborg ever settles her beef with Dana White.

Outside of that, there are painfully few challengers that the UFC could throw at Ronda, and call it a “competitive matchup” with a straight face.

I was beyond excited to see Rousey take on Cat Zingano, whose striking skills and power, purple belt in BJJ, and high-level wrestling background make her more than qualified to give Rousey a great fight. Watching her finish Miesha Tate toward the end of their three-round back-and-forth battle gave me confidence in her abilities to contend for the title. However, after her knee injury and the devastating loss of her husband, she has been sidelined for the time being. According to her manager Ed Soares, however, she could be ready to step back into the cage “as early as June.”

There is one other women fighting outside the UFC, who I believe would be an interesting and tough match-up for Ronda Rousey. Holly Holm is an incredibly accomplished boxer, on a level we have not seen in either women’s or men’s MMA. With a astonishing 18 boxing titles in three weight classes, and a kickboxing record of 2-1, Holly steps into the cage with a striking background most MMA fighters would fear. With five KO/TKOs (including four via kicks) and one decision in her professional MMA record, she would seem to be her way to being signed by the UFC — as long as her management and the UFC can agree on a price. These are the women I see putting on exciting fights against Rousey, and the fact that only one of them is currently under contract with the UFC is a bit of a problem.

Rousey is great for the UFC, and she might very well be the promotion’s biggest star as of right now. Having her as a champion is a good thing, but without quality opponents, her pay-per-view buys will drop and her star will fade, as fans lose interest in the latest Ronda Rousey squash-match. The three women mentioned above would hypothetically make for better fights than the champ has had in the UFC so far, but there is no guarantee that she will ever fight any of them. Cyborg may not make weight, or get signed. Cat Zingano may not come back to fight at the top level, and Holly Holm may continue fighting on MMA’s regional circuit, competing in boxing and kickboxing on the side.

Women’s MMA is several years, if not a full decade behind the men’s divisions in terms of competition and depth of talent. There are fewer fighters, fewer weight classes, and fewer opportunities for women to compete. But the tide is turning. Ronda may remain on top, unchallenged for years until the sport catches up to her and young athletes who have been training all of their lives (like the champ herself) start fighting in the Octagon. In the meantime, I hope for the sake of the sport — and for Ronda Rousey herself — that we get to see her in competitive match-ups against the existing cream of the crop. Until then, we can only wonder how far ahead of the game she really is.

MMA Coach Mauricio Zingano, 37, Found Dead After Apparent Suicide [UPDATED]


(Mauricio Zingano [right], shown here with his wife Cat and their son Brayden. / Photo via zinganobjj.com)

Third-degree BJJ black belt, coach, and former MMA fighter Mauricio Zingano has died at the age of 37, after reportedly committing suicide yesterday in Denver. Zingano was the husband of top-ranked UFC bantamweight Cat Zingano, the father of a young son, and the owner of two Black House MMA gym-affiliates in Colorado. Zingano’s manager Jorge Guimaraes confirmed the tragic news last night with Globo:

“Yes, he hanged himself in Denver on Monday. It’s something unexplainable, [I] do not know what may have motivated him to do so. We were together and he was fine, had plans and a lifetime ahead. It’s a tragedy. I’m going to Denver today to assist Cat, who is devastated, does not know what to do.”

According to his bio, Zingano began studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 16 under the tutelage of the Gracie family, and represented their art in several “challenge matches,” in which martial artists from other disciplines would come to the Gracie Academy to challenge BJJ fighters. (“He was known as one of the ‘gate keepers’ at the Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy during an era where bouts were fought without protective gear, weight classes and on a moment’s notice.”)

Zingano went on to become a two-time BJJ national champion, and was undefeated in amateur and professional MMA competition. He opened his first BJJ school in 2004, and was voted “Colorado’s MMA Coach of the Year” in 2010.

Our deepest condolences go out to the Zingano family during this painful time.

Updates, after the jump: MMAWeekly adds a couple more details on Mauricio’s death, and Cat Zingano releases an official statement.


(Mauricio Zingano [right], shown here with his wife Cat and their son Brayden. / Photo via zinganobjj.com)

Third-degree BJJ black belt, coach, and former MMA fighter Mauricio Zingano has died at the age of 37, after reportedly committing suicide yesterday in Denver. Zingano was the husband of top-ranked UFC bantamweight Cat Zingano, the father of a young son, and the owner of two Black House MMA gym-affiliates in Colorado. Zingano’s manager Jorge Guimaraes confirmed the tragic news last night with Globo:

“Yes, he hanged himself in Denver on Monday. It’s something unexplainable, [I] do not know what may have motivated him to do so. We were together and he was fine, had plans and a lifetime ahead. It’s a tragedy. I’m going to Denver today to assist Cat, who is devastated, does not know what to do.”

According to his bio, Zingano began studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 16 under the tutelage of the Gracie family, and represented their art in several “challenge matches,” in which martial artists from other disciplines would come to the Gracie Academy to challenge BJJ fighters. (“He was known as one of the ‘gate keepers’ at the Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy during an era where bouts were fought without protective gear, weight classes and on a moment’s notice.”)

Zingano went on to become a two-time BJJ national champion, and was undefeated in amateur and professional MMA competition. He opened his first BJJ school in 2004, and was voted “Colorado’s MMA Coach of the Year” in 2010.

Our deepest condolences go out to the Zingano family during this painful time.

Updates, after the jump: MMAWeekly adds a couple more details on Mauricio’s death, and Cat Zingano releases an official statement.

Jefferson County Chief Deputy Coroner Dan Pruett on Tuesday confirmed Zingano’s passing to MMAWeekly.com.

“Mr. Zingano was pronounced dead on Jan. 13 at his home,” said Pruett. “He was pronounced at 8:31 p.m.”

Citing struggles with the break-up of his marriage, several MMAWeekly.com sources alleged that Zingano committed suicide. Pruitt, however, said that “the cause and manner of death are pending” the outcome of the investigation of the Jefferson County coroner’s office.

Cat Zingano’s statement on her husband’s passing, released to MMAWeekly:

Late yesterday evening, I learned that my husband and soul mate of seven years, Mauricio Zingano, has passed away.

My life has changed irrevocably. I am shocked and deeply saddened. Thankfully, my family and friends are coming together to provide the support I need. I am grateful for them, as I know there are many difficult days ahead.

I also very much appreciate the outpour of support from the jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts world. My husband was well known and respected in this close-knit community and I know he would appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers, as do I.

At this time, I respectfully ask everyone to give me privacy as I gather with relatives and friends. Again, I give thanks to all for the kind words and support.

Sincerely,
Cat Zingano

Cat Zingano’s Right Knee Recovering Well, Left Knee Now Kind of Screwed Up

UFC women’s bantamweight contender Cat Zingano was all set to have a star-making coaching role on TUF followed by an immediate title shot against Ronda Rousey — until a tear of the ACL and meniscus of her right knee put her career momentum to a swift halt. Zingano’s recovery has been pretty gnarly at times, but her knee has been healing up according to schedule. Unfortunately, the condition of her left knee might complicate things.

“Cat is now three months out from her right knee anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction,” explains Dr. Ronald S. Kvitne of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles, in a new video released on Cat Zingano’s Facebook page last night. “She’s three months out, her knee looks great. She’s got almost perfect motion, she’s got great strength, she’s got excellent stability. Her bulk has come back on the thigh and the calf muscles. So, she’s about three months from getting back in the ring and starting to spar for an upcoming fight.”

“The only problem is, the other knee, the left knee, appears to have somewhere along the line gotten into trouble with a medial meniscus tear. So we’re gonna confirm that today with an MRI scan. If she does have a torn meniscus, she’ll need an arthroscopy surgery fairly quickly, so she can get back on track with the rehab. We think that within three months from now she can be back in the ring training, sparring, so that hopefully [she’ll be] fighting in about four to six months from now…in terms of the recovery of the right knee, she’s absolutely perfect on track, the left knee is throwing a little bit of a monkey wrench into things. If it is torn, we can fix that and have you rehabbed in three months, that quick and no problem.”

We’ll update you if Zingano’s recovery encounters any further delays. By the way, today marks the two-year anniversary of the last time Dominick Cruz competed in the Octagon. Anyway, get well soon, Cat.

After the jump: That video of Cat Zingano’s stretching routine that we’re obligated to post every time we mention her.

UFC women’s bantamweight contender Cat Zingano was all set to have a star-making coaching role on TUF followed by an immediate title shot against Ronda Rousey — until a tear of the ACL and meniscus of her right knee put her career momentum to a swift halt. Zingano’s recovery has been pretty gnarly at times, but her knee has been healing up according to schedule. Unfortunately, the condition of her left knee might complicate things.

“Cat is now three months out from her right knee anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction,” explains Dr. Ronald S. Kvitne of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles, in a new video released on Cat Zingano’s Facebook page last night. “She’s three months out, her knee looks great. She’s got almost perfect motion, she’s got great strength, she’s got excellent stability. Her bulk has come back on the thigh and the calf muscles. So, she’s about three months from getting back in the ring and starting to spar for an upcoming fight.”

“The only problem is, the other knee, the left knee, appears to have somewhere along the line gotten into trouble with a medial meniscus tear. So we’re gonna confirm that today with an MRI scan. If she does have a torn meniscus, she’ll need an arthroscopy surgery fairly quickly, so she can get back on track with the rehab. We think that within three months from now she can be back in the ring training, sparring, so that hopefully [she’ll be] fighting in about four to six months from now…in terms of the recovery of the right knee, she’s absolutely perfect on track, the left knee is throwing a little bit of a monkey wrench into things. If it is torn, we can fix that and have you rehabbed in three months, that quick and no problem.”

We’ll update you if Zingano’s recovery encounters any further delays. By the way, today marks the two-year anniversary of the last time Dominick Cruz competed in the Octagon. Anyway, get well soon, Cat.

After the jump: That video of Cat Zingano’s stretching routine that we’re obligated to post every time we mention her.

Gross Video of the Day: Cat Zingano Gets Her Melon-Knee Drained, Can’t Bear to Watch the Horror

Grizzly injury videos are quickly becoming this month’s Harlem Shake videos amongst the MMA community. Just last week, Mark Hunt videotaped the aftermath of what we can only assume was a horrific Blunderbuss accident, and today, Cat Zingano (or rather, her husband, Mauricio Zingano) has made us privy to the aftermath of the ACL injury that derailed her plans to coach opposite Ronda Rousey on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. And just like that, another War Machine conspiracy has been debunked. I guess we can put the Evan Tanner sponsorship-related suicide theory to bed as well. *Sigh*

As Karmaatemycat will surely tell you, the fluid-draining process is one of the more disgusting aspects of being a mixed martial artist — right up there with fighting Dan Severn in the late aughts. It appears that Cat was similarly horrified when forced to watch the equivalent of a dozen Five Hour Energy drinks being drained from her knee first hand. Honestly, I just hope this gross MMA video trend doesn’t take an even grosser turn into the world of anal colonic interview videos a la Tom Lawlor, or I am out this bitch.

To cleanse your palate of all this surgery-related grossness, we’ve thrown the now-classic video of Zingano during sexier, stretchier times after the jump.

Grizzly injury videos are quickly becoming this month’s Harlem Shake videos amongst the MMA community. Just last week, Mark Hunt videotaped the aftermath of what we can only assume was a horrific Blunderbuss accident, and today, Cat Zingano (or rather, her husband, Mauricio Zingano) has made us privy to the aftermath of the ACL injury that derailed her plans to coach opposite Ronda Rousey on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. And just like that, another War Machine conspiracy has been debunked. I guess we can put the Evan Tanner sponsorship-related suicide theory to bed as well. *Sigh*

As Karmaatemycat will surely tell you, the fluid-draining process is one of the more disgusting aspects of being a mixed martial artist — right up there with fighting Dan Severn in the late aughts. It appears that Cat was similarly horrified when forced to watch the equivalent of a dozen Five Hour Energy drinks being drained from her knee first hand. Honestly, I just hope this gross MMA video trend doesn’t take an even grosser turn into the world of anal colonic interview videos a la Tom Lawlor, or I am out this bitch.

To cleanse your palate of all this surgery-related grossness, we’ve thrown the now-classic video of Zingano during sexier, stretchier times after the jump.

–J. Jones

Ronda Rousey’s Mother Criticizes Last-Minute Announcement of Tate Replacing Zingano on TUF & in UFC Title Bout


(Somehow, she’s still scary in this photo)

So, remember when the UFC announced that Cat Zingano had to pull out of coaching The Ultimate Fighter opposite bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey as well as out of her title match with “Rowdy” and would be replaced by Meisha Tate. Everyone, except for Meisha Tatewas probably pretty bummed about Zingano’s injury but no one really seemed to care about how or when the UFC let the world, and Rousey know.

Well, according to Ronda’s mother Dr. Ana Maria Rousey DeMars, a former international Judo competitor, the UFC pulled a Urijah/Cruz/Barao-type announcement with Ronda being Faber in this instance, Meisha being Barao and finding out before Rousey that she would replace Zingano (the “Cruz” in this scenario) as coach and opponent. Alright, that messy analogy aside, Dr. Rousey DeMars used her blog to take issue with her daughter getting surprised and finding out later than Meisha that the two would fight one another again for the sake of providing a dramatic television moment for The Ultimate Fighter.

“When I heard about the last-minute switch in coaches for the show Ronda is on, my first thought was, ‘That’s a pretty dick move,’ Ana Maria wrote.

“Not so much replacing Cat, who was injured (ouch!) but keeping it from Ronda until the last minute. If you’re going to have an athletic competition, then it should be fair. Among other things, that means you don’t give one competitor information that the other doesn’t have. You don’t let one player know something weeks in advance of the other player.”


(Somehow, she’s still scary in this photo)

So, remember when the UFC announced that Cat Zingano had to pull out of coaching The Ultimate Fighter opposite bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey as well as out of her title match with “Rowdy” and would be replaced by Meisha Tate. Everyone, except for Meisha Tatewas probably pretty bummed about Zingano’s injury but no one really seemed to care about how or when the UFC let the world, and Rousey know.

Well, according to Ronda’s mother Dr. Ana Maria Rousey DeMars, a former international Judo competitor, the UFC pulled a Urijah/Cruz/Barao-type announcement with Ronda being Faber in this instance, Meisha being Barao and finding out before Rousey that she would replace Zingano (the “Cruz” in this scenario) as coach and opponent. Alright, that messy analogy aside, Dr. Rousey DeMars used her blog to take issue with her daughter getting surprised and finding out later than Meisha that the two would fight one another again for the sake of providing a dramatic television moment for The Ultimate Fighter.

“When I heard about the last-minute switch in coaches for the show Ronda is on, my first thought was, ‘That’s a pretty dick move,’ Ana Maria wrote.

“Not so much replacing Cat, who was injured (ouch!) but keeping it from Ronda until the last minute. If you’re going to have an athletic competition, then it should be fair. Among other things, that means you don’t give one competitor information that the other doesn’t have. You don’t let one player know something weeks in advance of the other player.”

Dr. Whoop Your Ass believes that real competition is taking a backseat to entertainment with The Ultimate Fighter and the UFC. She’s not the first person to express this type of concern about the UFC or fight promotions, generally. Rousey-DeMars is, however, exceptional in the timing and directness of her criticism, as well as her obvious close connection to an active UFC champ.

“So, it is pretty clear that whoever is making the decisions here has decided this is not an athletic competition, it’s a reality show. That’s what a lot of people have been saying all along, it’s just going to be a side show and not a serious athletic event,” she went on.

Rousey-DeMars then gave her daughter some unsolicited professional and personal advice, along with a pretty bad ass lil story from her competition days.”Here is my advice to Ronda, not that she asked me either, but that has never stopped me before,” Rowdy Sr. wrote.

“You know who gets to decide if this is an athletic competition or a reality show? You.”

Theatrics should be put aside and the task of fighting and beating another human being need to be Rousey’s focus. Rousey-DeMars recounted how an old coach of hers would react to opposing coaches’ tactics.

“…Other coaches who before the match would be giving lengthy instructions to my competitor – get your right cross grip, then go for the uchi mata, then switch…

“Every now and then, though, he would get annoyed by all of the posturing. That’s when he would pull me close and whisper in my ear his coaching advice.

‘Fuck. Her. Up.’”

It would appear that Ronda’s mom has already taught her that lesson well enough over her life, judging by her game face and the ferocity with which she fights. Mama Rousey left her daughter with some off-the-mat advice as well.

“I’d also make damn sure I found out who pulled that dick move on me and never trust him/them again.”

Watch out, Fox television producers and Uncle Dana. Mama Rousey don’t play that shiznit and she’s got a good memory.

–Elias Cepeda