“It was like fighting my mom” – Ronda Rousey once triumphed over an opponent twice her age to reach the Olympics
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Ronda Rousey
In 2005, Ronda Rousey was just 17 years old and had to take on a 40 year old Grace Jividen. When asked about her fight, Rousey explained that for her it was like she was competing against her mother. “It was like fighting my mom.” It did make a lot of sense considering that Rousey’s mother, Ann Marie Rousey was a teammate of Jividen back in 1981.
The event took place at the US Olympics team trials event in the San Jose event centre. Rousey and Jividen fought in the 63-kilogram division to make it to the Olympic team.
“I thought I’d be going in 2008,” Rousey said after winning the fight. “I never thought I’d be going now. I’m just in shock. It will take a while to sink in.”
Later in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Rowdy won a bronze medal in the 70 kilo Women’s judo. After that in 2011, she finally shifted her focus toward mixed martial arts.
Ronda Rousey’s journey from being an Olympic medalist to main event WrestleMania
Ronda Rousey’s first big MMA break came as a part of StrikeForce where she became the last Women’s Bantamweight Champion before it was bought by UFC. Automatically, Rousey was crowned as the default champion of the UFC bantamweight division and remained in that position for a long period. Back in those days, Rowdy was the face of UFC and hence made a lot of money. 2016 was the year when Ronda decided to quit MMA and pursue her professional wrestling career in WWE.
Also Read: Ronda Rousey Net Worth, Career, Endorsement, Husband, parents and more
Due to her popularity, it didn’t take much time for the then UFC bantamweigh champion to be a superstar in WWE. She became the only woman to be crowned champion in both UFC and WWE. Rousey lost her WWE belt in the first-ever women’s WrestleMania main event at WrestleMania 35 against Charlotte Flair.
Between all these, Rousey also became a Hollywood star. She got opportunities to play pivotal roles in several high-octane action movies such as Furious 7, The Expendables 3, Mile 22 etc.
Also Read: “It goes way back” When Ronda Rousey revealed the true story behind the mean look she makes in WWE
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Soumya Ranjan
(2167 Articles Published)