UFC sensation Ronday Rousey has admitted she has a goal to make the gender of a competitor irrelevant when considering their sporting legacy, outlining her intentions to be held in the same esteem as the likes of Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali.
The 28-year-old opened up about a variety of topics in an interview with SELF magazine, and it was intriguing to hear the kind of legend she wishes to leave before walking away from the sport.
“I want my name to be mentioned along with Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali,” said Rousey. “And I don’t want the word woman to be in front of champion.”
The American is currently in the middle of preparations for her bout against Holly Holm at UFC 193 on November 15. It’s an occasion that represents the most emphatic indication of Rousey’s pulling power yet, with the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia set to hold the biggest attendance ever for a UFC showcase.
Those in situ for the bout will have to keep their eyes firmly fixed on the action; such is Ronda’s dominance in the bantamweight division, she’s won her previous three fights in a cumulative time of 74 seconds.
As we can see here courtesy of BreatheSport, there’s a swagger about Rousey whenever she steps foot in the Octagon:
It’s a style that has endeared her to both MMA fanatics and the wider sporting world. Rousey is a fierce competitor who wears her heart on her sleeve and is unashamedly ambitious about becoming a sporting icon. She told comedian Chelsea Peretti as part of the SELF interview that’s she had to work extremely hard to reach this point:
It’s motivating, because it’s something I have to keep earning. When I was a kid, all I did was train. I never went to a dance, I never had a date, I never went to a single party.
Training was my whole life, and it was because I wanted to be able to win the Olympics more than I wanted to go to the movies with my friends. It’s funny, because people get offended by the mind-set that it takes to be the best.
It’s a desire that still burns bright in Rousey during press conferences, pre-fight preparations and when the big nights do roll around.
Holm, a strong striker, will be a unique test for her in Melbourne, as will the pressures that come with performing in front of what is anticipated to be a crowd of 70,000 at the venue, per MMA Fighting. But the champion posted the following on her Instagram account recently, suggesting she is completely focused on the job at hand:
Rousey, while she may be flawless in her fighting style, also admitted to Peretti she has her vices too, revealing she indulges in a lot of hot wings after a fight is over.
“I love hot wings,” she stated. “After my last fight, one of the UFC owners flew in a private chef from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro so that he could make me hot wings, because there are no hot wings in Rio! That’s how important they are to me.”
At the moment, there are many who would argue Rousey is the best pound-for-pound star in the entirety of the UFC. As she noted in the interview, there are still instinctive opinions and phrases that many use in reference to female competitors in a combat sport, but she’s a pioneer in ensuring positive progress is being made on that front.
After all, for all the popular fighters the UFC has hosted down the years, none have been as adored by fans as Rousey. If she can beat Holm in stellar fashion and preserve her hold on the division for a few more years yet, Ronda will surely be considered in the same exalted company as the illustrious names aforementioned.
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