Ronda Rousey is THE armbar queen. She could enter from anywhere and get an armbar submission. Holy Moley! It was so exciting to watch her in the cage when she was at the top of her game.
Image – SPIN.ph
Legend
Ronda Rousey has a “dramatic personality” some might say. Her reactions to losing to Holly Holmes and Amanda Nunes were not as “elegant” as they could have been. Sometimes that seems to be what she is remembered for. But it doesn’t change that she is the female champion who began women headlining in the UFC. Ronda was a vicious competitor. She was a champion of her era, and her armbars are legendary. It was tough to watch her leave the UFC on such a low note.
Image – Sports Illustrated
Genuine Judoka
Recently Khabib Nurmagomedov was reported as saying that if he has the opportunity to train wrestling or Judo, Judo is on “another level”. That other level was where Ronda lived. It wasn’t until we started seeing heavy hitting females that her reign came to a close. (The very same thing can be said about the Gracies). Ronda is a product of earlier UFC and the formation of MMA as a style. She is a legitimate Judo champion, like the Gracies were dominant jiu jitsu competitors. Her grappling dominant style was supreme, until it wasn’t.
Image – Fox News
The Test of Time
At UFC 288 Kron Gracie lost in such an absolute way Dana White referred to his performance as ‘a time capsule of MMA from 1995’ and it got me thinking. Once MMA started leaning towards striking, once MMA started to really be its own sport instead of a competition between fight styles, some of the early greats were edged out. MMA evolved and some of the fight styles that dominated in the beginning of UFC started to show weak spots in the cage. Fighters that excelled in one primary sport didn’t adjust well to the way some of the newer competitors fought.
Image – Showtime Sports
Next
Rousey’s personality played well in the WWE, even though her ‘stubborn’ ways and a fair amount of “drama” came with her. She was suspended for flipping a referee over her shoulder at Summerslam just last year. (Ronda is Ronda). Yet all things change, and “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey has announced her plan to exit from the WWE where she has been since 2016. Who can tell where she’ll end up next. More “acting” maybe?
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