Ronda Rousey, much like any number of other MMA legends, became a household name during her time in the sport. Before she took the women’s division of WWE by storm, before she headlined WrestleMania in the spring of 2019, the one nicknamed “Rowdy” conquered the sport of MMA.
Although Ronda Rousey’s time in MMA came to an end in December of 2016 after dropping a first-round knockout to Amanda Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) in UFC 207 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the mark she left on the sport will be long remembered.
Today, we’ll be taking a look back at the career of Rousey (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in MMA.
Ronda Rousey: Judoka
Before turning to mixed martial arts, she cut her teeth in the sport of judo. During the summer of 2004, Athens, Greece was the host city for that year’s Olympic Games. Rousey, a judo practitioner since her childhood, initially practiced with her mom serving as her sparring partner.
Mom eventually had to step away as daughter’s training partner upon sustaining a broken wrist during a sparring session. Her first turn as an Olympian was an unlucky one, as she was eliminated from the 63-kilogram tournament in the opening round against the late Claudia Heili, who ultimately took the silver medal in the tournament final.
Heili died in March of 2011 at 29 years of age. Upon Rousey turning in gold medal performances during the 2005 Pan-American Championships in Puerto Rico and 2007 Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro, she tried her luck in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games.
The second verse was much better than the first for Ronda Rousey, who captured the bronze medal in China. Afterward, her MMA career began.
Ronda Rousey Makes Quick Work in Amateur MMA Circuit
We now fast-forward to 2010, when “Rowdy” turned her attention to the cage of MMA. She only needed three amateur bouts to get noticed. Even in those early days in the sport, Rousey established a constant of her career, fast finishes.
In her three career amateur bouts, none of them lasted a minute in length or more. Timewise, her longest amateur contest was her second bout, a submission by way of armbar in just 57 seconds versus Autumn Richardson (King) in November of 2010 during Tuff-N-Uff: Future Stars of MMA.
All told, the combined length of Ronda Rousey’s three amateur contests in MMA: One minute and 44 seconds.
Quick Finishes Follow Ronda Rousey to Start Pro Career
With three contests on the amateur circuit under her belt, Rousey turned professional in the sport in March of 2011, but the fast nights at the office only continued from there. She finished off her pro debut in only 25 seconds by way of armbar vs. Ediane Gomez.
Even back then, MMA fans had to know that they were watching a star in the making with Ronda Rousey. It didn’t take too long into her pro career for her to get noticed by a major promotion. In just her third fight, she appeared in the late Strikeforce MMA, scoring a technical submission via armbar in 25 seconds against Sarah D’Aielio, parlaying that into the Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Championship in March of 2012 versus Miesha Tate.
UFC Comes Calling After Strikeforce Ceases Operations, Rousey Claims, Then Loses, Belt
In 2011, the UFC bought Strikeforce and eventually inherited the contracts of then-active fighters in the promotion, including that of Ronda Rousey. During a press conference in late 2012, UFC CEO Dana White announced Rousey as its first women’s bantamweight champion.
The following February, Rousey made a successful UFC debut, besting Liz Carmouche with an armbar in Anaheim during UFC 157. This set off a run of six defenses of her title, taking her up to the fall of 2015 in UFC 193, when she lost the belt to Holly Holm. For the first time in her MMA career, she was defeated, dropping the title by way of second-round knockout in 59 seconds.
In Rousey’s last successful defense of the belt, she delivered a knockout to Bethe Correia via punches in UFC 190 the previous August. After the defeat, Ronda Rousey wouldn’t set foot in the famous Octagon for another 13 and a half months.
Rousey’s MMA Career Ends in Second Consecutive Defeat
On Dec. 30, 2016, UFC 207 was held inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Due to New Year’s Eve occurring on a Saturday that year, this pay-per-view took place on a Friday. Rousey made her return to the cage against Amanda Nunes during the main event of the evening, hoping to get back in the win column.
Nunes had other ideas that winter’s night, however, finishing Rousey by way of first-round knockout inside the opening minute. Although nobody could have predicted it on the night of the card, UFC 207 marked Ronda Rousey’s retirement bout in MMA.
Close to a decade removed from her final fight in MMA, Ronda Rousey is still remembered as one of the all-time greats in the sport.