Even if you've never seen Rousey fight, you've probably seen her kick butt in big-budget
movies or on yet another magazine cover.
and while she used to sit atop the UFC throne, her rise to fame and fortune is not without
controversy.
"The best ever, ladies and gentlemen, Ronda Rousey"
Violence outside the ring
In her best-selling autobiography My Fight Your Fight, Rousey recalled a violent altercation
with an ex-boyfriend after she found out that he'd been secretly taking intimate photos
of her.
According to excerpts published by Bloody Elbow, Rousey claims she slapped him, and
when he blocked her exit,
"I punched him in the face.
[…] He staggered back and fell against the door.
[…] Then I grabbed him by the neck of his hoodie, kneed him in the face and tossed him
aside on the kitchen floor."
He allegedly followed her to her car and again, she claimed she was protecting herself, writing,
"I […] pulled him by the neck of the hoodie again, dragged him onto the sidewalk, and
left him writhing there as I sped away."
Rousey's admission lead many to question whether she was getting a pass on being a domestic
abuser because she's a woman.
Rousey told the Opie Radio podcast that the fear of her leaked photos is what inspired
her to pose in the buff for ESPN's Body Issue, saying,
"The first thing I did was I went and took naked pictures for ESPN Body.
It's like if it's gonna get out there, then I want it to get out there on my terms."
Not paying her dues
In addition to being upset that Rousey called her then-boyfriend a quote, "douche," former
UFC Champ Miesha Tate also believes Rousey hasn't exactly paid her dues.
"The level of cockiness and arrogance before she even accomplished anything, you know,
it's one thing to be confident, but she just came across so different"
Tate told Fox Sports,
"Every single woman that fights MMA has done just as much work as Ronda.
[…] Those women who came before her haven't been on magazine covers, they weren't plastered
everywhere by the UFC.
They didn't get the same reward back."
"She's changed the way that we look at women, she's changed the way that women look at themselves,
and she's definitely changed the way that little girls look at what's possible"
But Tate didn't stop there with her blistering critique of Rousey's success, adding that
she thinks Rousey belongs in the WWE, not the UFC, saying,
"She runs her mouth.
She's very loud, very boisterous, very opinionated.
Love her or hate her, you take notice of her."
"People usually hate my guts or they really really like me.
I'm fine with that."
A scandalous romance
Rousey confirmed her relationship with fellow UFC fighter Travis Browne in 2015 via ESPN,
saying,
"I don't talk about my personal life much.
[…] It's true that Travis and I are in a relationship.
I've really enjoyed the time we have spent together and getting to know one another.
And that's all I'm going to say about it."
"It's suspicious, who are you.
Who are you"
Rousey probably didn't want to say anything else because Browne was still married to fitness
model Jenna Renee Webb at the time.
TMZ reported that six months after they got married, Webb accused Browne of domestic violence.Browne
denied the allegations, but the UFC suspended him, pending an investigation.
According to ESPN, the UFC cleared and reinstated Browne in 2015, and Rousey and Browne married
in 2017.
What goes around…
Rousey was the undefeated favorite going into her 2015 fight with Holly Holm…which went
to her head way before Holm's foot ever did.
Despite being cordial with each other leading up to the fight, the ladies nearly came to
blows at weigh-ins, prompting UFC President Dana White to break them up.
Afterward, Rousey told Joe Rogan,
"She's the one that put the fist on my face, I didn't touch her.
She's the one that touched me and I told her that fake, sweet act — I see right through
it."
As we know now, Holm won.
After the fight, the UFC's Rashad Evans called Rousey's behavior "disgusting" and suggested
it serve as a lesson in humility, saying,
"[…] Now I think she's to the point where she's like, 'You know what, I'm not going
to say anything, I'm not going to give you a sound bite to hang me with afterward if
I don't win this fight.'"
All about the Benjamins?
In 2016, Amanda Nunes made quick work of Rousey in just 48 seconds.
Despite that fact, though, Rousey's paycheck dwarfed her opponent's by an absurd amount.
According to MMAJunkie, Nunes made $200,000 for retaining her bantamweight title, while
Rousey earned a whopping $3 million.
Don't worry we already did the math, figuring Rousey made about $62,500 per second for losing.
Those numbers left some wondering if Rousey's so-called comeback was just a cash grab.
Some even believe Rousey had her eye on a Hollywood career and other cash endorsements
and never really took the match-up with Nunes seriously.
"I hope people remember me as one of the greatest fighters that ever lived, but I don't know
if they will."
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