Many people believe that fighting is a man's sport. Punching, kicking, and wrestling are testosterone-fueled activities that bring to mind images of muscular, square-jawed guys. Up until recently, lots of us could have never imagined a woman becoming one of the biggest names the sport had ever seen. But of course, that was before Ronda Rousey stepped into the cage.
Mixed martial arts is not for the faint of heart. It combines striking with submission wrestling, and to succeed at it, you have to be a good fighter both on your feet and on the ground. Rousey might have started off doing judo, but she's proven herself to be a powerful opponent in the MMA circuit as well. She's not just an awesome fighter, though — she also has a heart of gold. Just watch what happened when she was asked to the Marine Corps Ball by a brave (and very sweet) Marine!
As the first woman ever to sign with the UFC, Rousey has made waves in the world of women's fighting, inspiring girls everywhere to put up a fight in everything they do. I'm sure that in the future, we'll see a lot more little girls like this fierce (and frightening) young warrior who prefer kicking butt to playing with baby dolls!
Check out Ronda Rousey's story, and you'll find it's pretty hard not to be motivated by this strong, successful woman. I sure hope my daughters grow up with her as their role model!
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Ronda Rousey was born in Riverside, California, on February 1, 1987, as the youngest of three sisters.
She had a severe speech impediment for the first six years of her life. When she was finally able to overcome it, it was one of the first signs that she wouldn't let anything get in her way.
Ronda's mother, AnnMaria DeMars, was the first U.S. citizen to win the World Judo Championship. She helped Ronda learn judo starting when she turned 11.
Ronda's training in the sport paid off when, in 2004, she became the youngest judoka at the Athens Olympic Games at age 17.
Four years later, Rousey went on to become the first American to medal in women's judo in the Olympics when she won bronze at the Games in Beijing.
After deciding that she didn't want a typical 9 to 5 job, Rousey entered the world of mixed martial arts. She won her first fight as an amateur in just 23 seconds with an arm bar.
Rousey's fans began to see a pattern as the fighter continued to submit her opponents with arm bars, many of them within the first round.
After winning and defending the title of women's bantamweight champion in Strikeforce, Ronda began to attract the attention of UFC president Dana White.
Rousey made her UFC debut against Liz Carmouche, winning the fight four minutes and 49 seconds into the first round.
Ronda continued her steady uphill climb, being selected as a coach on the TV show The Ultimate Fighter opposite former Strikeforce opponent Miesha Tate. One of Tate's fighters won the competition, but Rousey submitted Miesha with an arm bar in their rematch at UFC 168.
By this point, Ronda was making a name for herself not only as a fighter, but also as a model. She appeared on the cover of the 2012 "Body Issue" of ESPN The Magazine, and in 2013, she landed a cover and pictorial for Maxim.
Always the overachiever, Rousey didn't stop there. She also began a career in acting, starting with a role in The Expendables 3. She also appeared in Furious 7 and the Entourage film.
Despite her other commitments, Ronda remained seemingly unstoppable in the cage. She proved she wasn't a one-trick pony when she defeated Sarah McMann with a knee to the body. This earned Ronda her first TKO win.
Rousey's next fights against Alexis Davis and Cat Zingano ended with arm bars 16 and 14 seconds into the first round, respectively.
Ronda had her first knockout against Brazilian fighter Beth Correia just 34 seconds into the fight. It seemed that no one could stop "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey.
However, that all changed on November 15, 2015, when she stepped into the ring with championship boxer Holly Holm, who was also undefeated in her MMA career.
No matter how hard she tried, Rousey couldn't take Holm to the ground. The fight went on into the second round. And then, the unbelievable happened.
Holm delivered a massive upset when she landed a kick on the side of Rousey's head, knocking out and dethroning the long-time bantamweight champion.
Ronda is currently facing a medical suspension to heal from her injuries, but there's no doubt she'll be back in the cage to fight to regain her title and continue making waves in women's MMA.
No matter what the future holds for this incredible fighter, she'll undoubtedly go down in history as one of the most awesome people ever to step into the cage.
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