Ronda Rousey aka Rowdy could have embossed her authority on the UFC permanently, had she been as tough as she claimed to be.
From effortlessly doing away with her opponents in less than the stipulated number of rounds to seeing her legacy be vanquished, she has seen both the highs and the lows of the unmerciful sport of mixed martial arts.
The once celebrated superstar is now finding it hard to contemplate her future in the sport. Here’s why the MMA universe turned its back on Ronda Rousey.
#5 Antithesis of a sportswoman
The “baddest woman on the planet” was once heralded as the most iconic sportswoman; something around which the UFC built a legacy.
It was her athletic prowess in the octagon that coaxed Dana White into ushering in a bantamweight division for women in the UFC and it was her instant ascent to the apex which promulgated her ‘holier than holy’ image which created quite a furore in the world of mixed martial arts.
However, contrary to the fairy tale that was fabricated around her, Rousey wasn’t quite the ‘sportswoman’ she was often touted as.
From shrugging off handshakes at weigh-ins to intimidating opponents before fights all the way to not touching gloves before the match, Rousey is definitely the antithesis of a sports personality.
Also read: 8 WWE opponents for Ronda Rousey
To top it all, Rousey displayed zilch respect for her opponents, something which has been unanimously hated by the MMA fan fraternity.
There have been instances where her despicable behaviour and absence of sportsmanship have tarnished her highfalutin reputation, most notably her spewing out insults at Miesha Tate during the course of their UFC 168 rivalry.
#4 Dubbed as perfect despite obvious imperfections
Ronda Rousey aka Rowdy took centre stage in the Ultimate Fighting Championship courtesy the 12 straight wins that she had!
Despite being a superior judoka who annihilated every opponent in her path with cleansweep takedowns and armbars (winning 9 of her bouts through submissions), Ronda Rousey’s strike-game was definitely below par, something that contributed to her downfall.
Her strike-game has a lot of catching up to do. In addition to that, she’s missing out on the essentials such as proper head movement. The lacunae in her striking is what makes her susceptible against elite strikers such as Amanda Nunes, who rely more on hard-hitting than closing the gap.
Rousey’s match against Holly Holm exposed her weakness for the world to see. Holm, being the cleverer out of the two, avoided Rousey’s clinch and continued the blitzkrieg from a distance (being fully aware of Rousey’s close-proximity strength).
Yes, Ronda Rousey was never the perfect fighting specimen that she was marketed as!
#3 Went straight for the title upon her return
On November the 15th, 2015, Holly Holm did the unthinkable. She humbled Ronda Rousey with a head-kick that sent the entire UFC fraternity in a tizzy (not just Ronda Rousey). Holm caused the biggest upset of the year when she clinched the Bantamweight title leaving a legion of Ronda-loyals gawking in disbelief.
The swashbuckling sports personality who was making the waves not just in the octagon but even outside it, was reduced to a hapless pile after just two freakin’ rounds! Post that, Rousey went into a self-exile, shunning the media and her fans.
While she was still absconding, rumours of her return and possible match against Amanda Nunes (who was the champion) surfaced. It did materialise, much to the shock of the people. Going straight for the title after a year’s exile is never a smart move in the realm of combat sports.
Even someone as great as Muhammad Ali had to fight Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonavena after serving a three-year ban before he could lay hands on Joe Frazier.
Instead of returning humbly and working up the ranks, she decided to strike for gold straight away, only leading to a TKO loss that lasted less than 50 seconds!
#2 Her lack of courage
After being relegated to a tertiary position at the behest of the epochal fight against Holly Holm, Ronda Rousey’s future inside the octagon looked bleak.
The curtains had fallen and Ronda Rousey fled the scene like the Roadrunner flees at the sight of Wile E. Coyote. Later, in February 2016, in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Rousey admitted to having suicidal thoughts occupying most of her time and headspace, exposing the weaker side to her.
A loss to Frazier did little to dissuade Ali’s boisterous ego, then why did Ronda Rousey chicken out after she lost fair and square? Why didn’t she uphold the status of ‘champion’ that she once held so dearly?
Clearly, Ronda Rousey isn’t courageous enough to accept defeat, move on and start anew. Her subsequent loss to Amanda Nunes further led to a downward spiral in terms of her career prospects inside the octagon.
Will Ronda Rousey ever return to the UFC or would she seek greener pastures in the form of Hollywood or the WWE?
#1 Possible link-ups with the WWE
…which brings us to point #1; would Ronda Rousey consider a move to the World Wrestling Entertainment after seeing her once illustrious UFC career bite the dust?
Well, she did make an appearance at WrestleMania 30 with The Rock, with whom she co-starred in Furious 7. Was that a sign of things to come? Post her loss to Nunes, speculations are rife about Ronda becoming a crossover superstar and gracing the squared circle instead of the octagon.
The UFC fraternity is furious at the possibility of seeing their beloved Rowdy Rousey ditch real fighting to compete against a bunch of choreographers and showmen!
If not the World Wrestling Entertainment, Ronda always has the option of making it big as a movie star, something that she is quite familiar with owing to her success as a Hollywood superstar.
While people can hate on her, Ronda surely has alternative career options!
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