Ronda Rousey was nonetheless early in her MMA profession, having solely fought twice when she signed with Strikeforce. Nevertheless, she shortly turned a outstanding determine within the sport and performed a key position in bringing girls into the UFC.
It’s well-known that UFC CEO Dana White as soon as famously declared that ladies would by no means combat within the UFC. However Rousey modified his thoughts fully and have become the trailblazer who reshaped the way forward for girls within the group. Again in 2011, although, Rousey was simply an rising fighter, hopeful that her performances could be sufficient to catch White’s eye.
Reflecting on these early days, Rousey acknowledges that she felt a robust sense of duty to show herself, particularly understanding that ladies’s MMA was in danger after the UFC bought Strikeforce.
In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Rousey shared, “Folks neglect how delicate the state of affairs was. I managed to get us in on the final minute.” She defined that Strikeforce had been the one promotion actually giving girls a platform to compete, largely as a result of Gina Carano’s affect. Carano’s father had connections with the Nevada Athletic Fee, permitting her to compete in sanctioned fights. However after Carano left the game, the ladies’s division started to wrestle, significantly as Cris Cyborg, closely accused of steroid use, took over. “Nobody wished to observe her cheat,” Rousey stated. All the division was getting ready to collapse.
Rousey knew that with UFC’s acquisition of Strikeforce, they could solely hold the male fighters they had been curious about and shut down the remainder, just like what had occurred with different promotions like PRIDE and WEC. It turned clear to Rousey that the ladies’s division may quickly disappear.
Earlier than Rousey’s rise, Gina Carano had been the highest feminine star in MMA, however she left the game in 2009 after shedding to Cyborg. Though Strikeforce continued selling girls’s fights, the way forward for the division was in query. Rousey understood this, and from that time on, she made it her mission to face out. Her highly effective performances within the cage, mixed together with her daring and outspoken character, shortly propelled her to superstardom.
