Former UFC fighter Ronda Rousey.
Photo : X (Formerly Twitter)/ @RondaRousey
Ronda Jean Rousey is an American professional wrestler, actress and former mixed martial artist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever woman athletes in the combat sports industry. Rousey started her professional career with Judo, winning an Olympic Bronze medal becoming the first American woman to achieve the feat back in 2008 after which she joined UFC having forayed into mixed martial arts. After winning numerous bouts and titles, the 36-year-old moved on to WWE and won multiple titles as she became a three-time women’s World Champion, before going independent in October 2023.
Currently, Ronda is on a pay-per-appearance deal with Ring of Honor, and she has an army of 18 million followers on Instagram. She is one of the highest-paid combat sports woman athletes in the world and has an estimated net worth of $14 million as of 2023.
She is the only woman to have won championships and headlined a pay per view event for both UFC and WWE before the merger of the two companies, and apart from her in-ring exploits, Ronda has also appeared in many movies including The Expendables 3, Furious 7, Mile 22, among others. Back in 2015, she also published her autobiography named My Fight / Your Fight.
Ronda Rousey’s early life
Born on February 1, 1987, in Riverside, California, Ronda Rousey was a fighter from birth, she had her mother's umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, due to which she struggled with speech disorders up until the age of six. Rousey's mother AnnMaria De Mars was a decorated Judoka and was the first American woman to the World Judo Championship. Having begun her Judo journey with her mother at the age of 11, Ronda once broke her mother's wrist accidentally. She would go on to become the youngest judoka to qualify for 2004 Athens Olympics aged 17, even though she lost her first match but clinched a gold medal at the World Judo Junior Championships the same year.
She would go on to clinch the bronze medal at the 2006 Junior World Championships, as well as silver at the 2007 World Judo Championships and a gold at the Pan American Games the same year. In the 2008 Olympics, Rousey won a bronze medal defeating Annett Boehm, and retired from the sport at the tender age of 21.
Ronda Rousey’s foray into MMA and UFC
After retiring from Judo, Ronda Rousey began training for MMA and practicsed under various coaches to train in various mixed martial arts before making her professional mixed martial arts debut on March 27, 2011 with a submission victory in 25 seconds. She would then go on to fight at Strikeforce, defeating Sarah D'Alelio in August via submission again. The 36-year-old would then challenge Miesha Tate, picking up her maiden Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Championship via a submission, in 2012.
Then in November, Ronda made her bow in UFC, becoming the first female fighter to sign with the company, she was named the first ever UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion. For her debut the American fought Liz Carmouche at UFC 157. She would retain her title, with a dislocated jaw and would face off against Miesha Tate, in a rematch from Strikeforce, at UFC 168. In a brutal fight that last three rounds, Rousey prevailed again through submission.
Throughout her first six UFC fights Ronda went unbeaten, she spent just 1077 seconds in the octagon, raking in a prize money of $1,080,000. In her seventh fight against Holly Holm Rousey was finally beaten by a knockout. The loss would impact her personally, she remained away from the ring for nearly a year before returning in December 2016 to face Amanda Nunes at UFC 207, losing via knockout early in the first round.
While Rousey didn't officially announce her UFC retirement, she was later inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July 2018.
Ronda Rousey’s WWE career
After multiple promos and a special cameo at Wrestlemania 31 with the Rock where Rousey beat up Triple H and his wife Stephanie McMahon, Ronda officially joined WWE in 2017 and made a surprise entrance at the 2018 Women’s Royal Rumble.
Finally, in April 2018, Rousey made her in-ring debut partnering with Kurt Angle to beat Triple H and Stephanie via submission at Wrestlemania 34. After a fight with Nia Jax at the Money in the Bank, the 'Rowdy' wrestler finally received a title shot against Alexa Bliss at Summerslam. She won her maiden WWE title subsequently and defended it again at Hell in a Cell.
She would go on to fend off multiple challengers throughout the year prevailing at Evolution, Survivor Series as well as Table Ladders and Chairs PPV, before it was announced that she would face fellow challengers Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair for the Raw Women's Championship and the Smackdown Women's Championship. In a winner takes all contest, Lynch pinned Rousey for her first defeat which marked the end of her title reign which lasted 231 days.
She would then go on to win her second WWE title, beating Flair at WrestleMania Backlash to win the Smackdown Women’s title, her reign last only 55 days as Liv Morgan cashed in her Money in the Bank contract after Rousey had beaten Natalya. Following a long feud with Morgan, Rousey finally reclaimed the Smackdown Women's title at Extreme Rules and her second title reign ended after 83 days when Flair defeated her in an impromptu title match.
She would then team up with long-time friend Shayna Baszler to claim the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, their reign lasted for only 32 days after which the two friends turned on each other culminating in Rousey's defeat at Summerslam after which she left WWE in October 2023.
Since moving on from WWE, Ronda Rousey has made multiple appearances as an independent wrestler at various pay-per view events such as Lucha VaVoom, UNREAL, and the Ring of Honor.
Ronda Rousey’s age
Born on February 1, 1987, Ronda Rousey is 36 years old and she has set many records in her life, including the youngest-ever Judoka to qualify for the Olympics.
Rousey’s height and weight
Ronda Rousey stands at 5 ft 7 in (170 cm), and she weighs 135 lb (61 kg; 9 st 9 lb). She is among one of the most physically intimidating women athletes in the combat sports industry.
Ronda Rousey endorsem*nts and sponsorships
The American wrestler is no stranger to fame and due to her dominant record in multiple companies, she has been the face of many renowned brands such as Fanatics, Iconic, Reebok, Monster headphones, and Max-Effort Muscle among others. Nicknamed the 'Baddest woman on the planet', she has an estimated net worth of $14 million.
Ronda Rousey titles and championships
A three-time WWE Champion, Ronda Rousey was also part of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with Shayna Baszler as well as winning the Women's Royal Rumble (2022) and Eighth Women's Triple Crown Champion. She won multiple medals at the international level as a Judoka including the Olympic Bronze, World Championship silver and World Cup gold medals. The first woman to be inducted into UFC's Hall of Fame, Ronda was the inaugural one-time UFC Bantamweight Champion, as well as the Strikeforce one-time Women's Bantamweight Champion. Apart from this, she has been honoured with multiple accolades throughout her career.
Ronda Rousey’s personal life
'Rowdy' Ronda is married to fellow UFC fighter Travis Browne. The pair had started dating each other in 2015 and two years later they exchanged vows in Hawaii in 2017. In 2021, the duo were blessed with their first daughter, whom they named La’akea Makalapuaokalanipō Browne.
