Ronday Rousey has insisted she would never step into the ring with a male competitor despite some recent barbs from boxer Floyd Mayweather.
Speaking to Australian show The Project (h/t Nola Ojomu of Daily Mail Australia) the UFC women's bantamweight champion insisted there's no way opposite sexes should be going up against each other in a combat sport: "I don’t think, as a professional sport, we can have situation where an entire stadium is cheering about a man hitting a woman."
Rousey had previously stated on a Reddit Ask Me Anything (h/t the Guardian) that in a hypothetical "no rules" fight she would be able to beat the 38-year-old boxer. Mayweather is now retired from the sweet science after his recent win over Andre Berto, leaving him with a perfect record 49 wins from 49 professional bouts.
Chamatkar Sandhu of MMA Junkie claimed in jest that a Mayweather-Rousey fight may be a lot more entertaining than some of the boxer's recent outings:
Rousey also blasted the Nevada State Athletic Commission for its decision to ban fellow UFC star Nick Diaz for five years after he tested positive for marijuana.
Diaz was levied with the ban earlier this week and hit with a $165,000 fine after failing a drugs test in the wake of his defeat to Anderson Silva in January. Speaking at a UFC press conference, Rousey claimed the decision was too harsh and that competitors shouldn’t be tested for the substance at all, per Marc Raimondi of MMAfighting.com:
It's so not right for him to be suspended five years for marijuana.
I’m against them testing for weed at all. It's not a performance-enhancing drug. It has nothing to do with athletic competition. It's only tested for political reasons. They say, 'Oh, it's only for your safety to keep you from hurting yourself because you're out there.' Why don't they test for all of the other things that could possibly hurt us?
Nick is a very close and dear friend of mine, so of course I'm going to defend him, but it's so unfair if one person tests for steroids that could actually hurt a person and the other person smokes a plant that makes him happy and he gets suspended for five years.
As noted in Raimondi’s piece, Diaz has been caught with marijuana in his system on three separate occasions now. But the five-year suspension would all but end the career of the 32-year-old from Stockton, California.
Comedian and MMA commentator Joe Rogan agreed with Rousey’s assessment, branding the decision an “abuse of power” on the part of the NSAC:
While Rousey will be hugely disappointed for her colleague and friend, she has some matters at hand she must focus on moving forward. Indeed, the American is scheduled to face Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 193 on November 15 in Melbourne, Australia.
As of late, Rousey has swept aside all of her opponents, with her last four fights lasting for a grand total of 130 seconds. Needless to say, Holm has a massive task on her hands if she’s to halt Ronda’s winning run in the UFC, but Rousey thinks the upcoming clash will be her toughest yet.
“Well, no she’s a 19 times boxing world champion,” Rousey said on The Project when asked if she thought Holm was crazy to step into the Octagon with her. “Undefeated, a really crazy chick with plenty of head kick knockouts. She’s the greatest challenge I’ve ever had.”
The hope for those looking to see one of Ronda’s fights go beyond the first round is that Holm’s boxing background will prevent the champion from launching an aggressive early assault. But even so, Rousey has so many assets in her armoury—including improved striking of her own—meaning it’s tough to see her opponent springing an upset.
Raimondi thinks Holm has at least acquitted herself pretty well in the pre-fight preparations:
Rousey's assessment when it comes to fighting men is something the overwhelming majority would definitely agree with.
Holm certainly possesses the attributes to keep Rousey at bay a little longer than the likes of Bethe Correia, Cat Zingano and Alexis Davis, and those UFC fans Down Under may finally get to see the superstar fighter tested. But Rousey still looks untouchable and will surely remain at the summit of the sport for a while yet.
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