Jacob Jardel
Assistant Managing Editor
@JJardel_Writing
In 2011, celebrity news website TMZ asked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White about when women will be in the organization.
“Never,” he responded.
A year later, White changed his mind when he signed “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey to UFC.
Nearly three years after her signing, the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion has become the talk of mixed martial arts (MMA) with her lightning-quick wins and her stratospheric confidence levels.
“There are better actresses out there,” Rousey said in a Rolling Stone interview. “But there are no better fighters.”
One look at her resume, and there is little doubt to her claim.
A former Olympic bronze medalist in Judo, Rousey boasts an unblemished 11-0 record with all but one fight ending in the first round. In fact, her last two fights lasted a combined 30 seconds, including a record-setting 14-second win against Cat Zingano at UFC 184.
Overall, she is Tapology.com’s top ranked pound-for-pound female MMA fighter and UFC’s sixth-ranked pound-for-pound fighter. In fact, she ranks as high as second pound-for-pound in some individual writers’ rankings.
However, one thing that she did not expect was the popular culture fame that follows her now. She has appeared on the covers of magazines inside and outside of the sporting world, from ESPN the Magazine to Maxim with an appearance inside the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Rousey has also made appearances on the silver screen, with guest spots in movies such as “Expendables 3,” “Furious 7” and the upcoming “Entourage” movie. She even made a surprise appearance at WWE’s WrestleMania 31.
With all of the aforementioned fame and more, there is no questioning Rousey as the face of UFC and MMA as a whole. However, her impact goes beyond what viewers see or read.
A few years ago, when Dana White claimed there was not enough depth to create a women’s division in the UFC, there were a few promotions that featured women on the card. Most of these fights and organizations dwarfed under the shadow of UFC, and many absorbed into White’s organization over the years.
Now, the women’s divisions in the UFC are flourishing with Rousey leading the way. There are 55 fighters split between the Women’s Bantamweight and Strawweight divisions – all of whom are climbing higher up event cards due to the popularity of the women’s game.
UFC had been surging in popularity since the turn of the millennium, and a lot of this boost has come from Rousey’s addition to the roster. According to a 2014 Bleacher Report article, the women’s side of the sport would not be where it is now without Rousey.
“It isn’t just important for MMA,” James MacDonald, author of the article, said. “Embracing female athletes is an important cultural step, and one that our sport should be proud to be a part of.”
While she may not have had this success or the accompanying cultural leap in mind, Rousey did seek to at least change the UFC President’s mind about the sport.
“It was a goal of mine from the very beginning actually,” Rousey told the Orange County Register in 2012. “I just refused to be ignored pretty much. I said, ‘[Dana White] is going to love me and there’s nothing he can do about it.’ I was so sure. You know, I never doubted it.”
This lack of doubt has followed Rousey from her first fight to now as she prepares to take on Bethe Correia at UFC 190 on Aug. 1 in Rio. With a record like hers, there is no doubting Rousey’s ability in the octagon.
However, there was still some surprise with her success and the proceeding success of women’s MMA as a whole. Experts like Dale Spencer, author of “Ultimate Fighting and Embodiment: Violence, Gender, and Mixed Martial Arts” were surprised at how UFC embraced the women’s side of the fight card.
“I think that they’ve really tried to not just make it into something that is a one-off,” Spencer told Bleacher Report. “It has instead been integrated all the way into main events. … That’s what I’ve been most surprised about.”
For that, the UFC can thank Rousey – the polarizing figure who has taken the sport by storm. Many cast her aside because of her highly confident persona. However, as she told UFC Magazine in February, there is no doubting what she has done for the sport – especially inside the octagon.
“People can say what they want about my personality,” she said, “but they will never be able to say anything about how I fight except that I’m the best ever.”