5 interesting facts about Ronda Rousey

On April 8th 2018, Ronda Rousey made her sensational debut for WWE at Wrestlemania alongside Kurt Angle. Squaring off against the power couple of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, the match itself surprised everyone and was considered one of the best of the night. It seemed as if Ronda was made for pro-wrestling.

5 months later, she holds the WWE Raw Women's Championship and looks set for a long reign. Her journey has been quite unique, from being an Olympian to MMA fighter to Hollywood and now a pro-wrestler, let's look at 5 interesting facts about 'Rowdy' Ronda Rousey.

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#5. First and Foremost

Ronda Rousey after winning the Olympic Bronze Medal at the Beijing Olympics 2008

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, at the age of just 17, Rousey became the youngest judo competitor. That same year she won a gold medal at the World Junior Judo Championships and in 2006 she became the first American female in almost 10 years to win a gold medal at the World Cup held in Britain. She won the bronze medal at the Junior World Championships at 19 years of age.

She is the first American athlete to win two Junior World Medals and she added a silver medal at the World Judo Championships 2007. She would go on to win a gold at the Pan American Games. But her greatest achievement was when she became the first American to win a Bronze medal in Women's Judo in the Beijing Olympics 2008.

She is currently, the only woman to have successfully transitioned from MMA to WWE, having won both the promotion's top belts. Ronda was also the first woman to sign up for UFC in 2012, where she became the promotion's first and longest reigning Bantamweight champion for two and a half years.

#4. Ronda Rousey's father committed suicide when she was eight.

It was known that Ronda was very close to her father

Ron Rousey, Ronda’s father was suffering from a blood disorder, that made him end his life. His daughters were at home watching T.V, while Ron decided to take his life in his garage. His death took a toll on her and her family but she has since spoken of this incident, describing how fighting and competing in MMA gave her an outlet to vent out her grief.

Co-incidentally, her grandfather had also committed suicide, and Rousey herself contemplated suicide in 2016, which she revealed after her devastating loss to Holly Holm in 2015. Although she didn't actually do any harm to herself, Rousey said that she seriously thought about it because her undefeated streak was over and even stated that 'no one gives a sh*t about me anymore without this'

Here’s an interview of Ronda on The Ellen Show where she breaks down recalling her loss to Holly Holm.

#3. Ronda Rousey's first UFC match lasted 4 minutes and 49 seconds. Her last UFC match lasted 48 seconds.

Amanda Nunes after her victory over Ronda Rousey at UFC 207

As Ronda was the first woman to sign with UFC, she was awarded the UFC Bantamweight Championship by Dana White. She defended her belt for the first time on February 23, 2013 at UFC 157 against Liz Carmouche. She won the match via her armbar 4 minutes and 49 seconds into the first round. Subsequently, she would go on to successfully defend her title another 6 times on Pay-per-view. Ronda wins fights and wins them quickly. Once, she got a submission win in the break-neck speed of 14 seconds (the second fastest in UFC history).

No wonder UFC president Dana White called her their 'biggest star'.

Her first title loss came when she defended her belt against Holly Holm at UFC 193 on November 15, 2015, where she was knocked out by Holm in the second round. This led to a medical suspension for Rousey. She was cleared to fight by December 2015.

But it was her return match that signalled the end of her MMA career when she faced then champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. She lost the match via TKO in 48 seconds. She never made a return to UFC after the loss.

#2. She is the first woman athlete to feature on the cover of a men's magazine.

Ronda Rousey on the cover of Men's Fitness magazine

She has a lot of first's. Ronda Rousey's exceptional skills, her tough image and her attractiveness made her an admirable superstar among both men and women. Australia's Men's Fitness magazine was aware of all the buzz surrounding the UFC fighter and made her the cover star of their male-oriented magazine.

Rousey didn't end there, as she would go on to feature as a cover star on many other premier magazines and even featured on espnW's Impact 25. More notably, however, she was also the first female MMA athlete to feature on the cover of Sports Illustrated, in which she was described as 'the world's most dominant athlete'.

#1. She has a published book to her name.

Ronda along with her sister Maria Ortiz published a book covering her journey in and out of the octagon

Ronda Rousey has done it all. Women's Judo, Mixed Martial Arts, Acting, Pro-wrestling and even bar-tending at one point. We have heard of many sport-persons penning their biography, to let the world know of their journey, but this is a lot above the average inspirational wonder books.

Co-author Maria Burns Ortiz, a journalist and Ronda’s sister cover everything you ever wanted to know about the ‘Rowdy’ in a remarkable autobiography titled "My Fight/Your Fight". It gives an insight into Rousey’s philosophy on life, her training, which also includes motivational thoughts and chapters such as "No One Has the Right to Beat You”, "Champions Always Do More", "You Will Never Win a Fight by Running Away", "If It Were Easy, Everyone Would Do it".

This book reflects the genius and psyche of the former UFC superstar, a compelling recollection that has been rated highly by book readers worldwide.