The Rise and Fall of Ronda Rousey
In 2011, MMA was surging in relative popularity. Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva were the kings of their weight divisions and were considered to be among the best mixed martial artists to ever exist. Also in 2011, Jon Jones began his storied and checkered run as the UFC's Light Heavyweight Champion.
In the year 2011, Ronda Rousey made her professional MMA debut.
A lifelong judoka, Rousey won a bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Her judo prowess translated well to MMA, effectively turning the armbar submission into her signature finish.
Sporting a 2-0 record, Rousey fought for the Strikeforce promotion, earning an additional 2 wins by 1st round armbar. In 2012, she was given the title shot for the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Championship. The champion at the time was Miesha Tate, who would go on to be Rousey's biggest rival.
With the 2 women headlining the event, Rousey won the championship against Tate via 1st round armbar.
After another victory against Sarah Kaufman (again by 1st round armbar), Rousey was promoted to the UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion. This was brought on by the UFC's acquisition of Strikeforce in early 2011.
Ronda Rousey's first title defense in the UFC was against Liz Carmouche. In 2013, the two headlined in what would be the first women's fight in UFC history. Early during the spirited bout, Carmouche was able to get the champion's back and apply a face crank, momentarily dislocating Rousey's jaw. Fighting the submission, Rousey was able to shake her opponent off and dominate the rest of the round. In position for the armbar, Carmouche worked hard to prevent Rousey from getting her arm. The champion eventually prevailed. Rousey submitted Carmouche by armbar with 10 seconds left in the first round.
Seemingly overnight, Ronda Rousey turned into a mainstream star. From being on late-night talk shows, to the cover of magazines, she was everywhere. As a result from this, Women's MMA also started to gain in popularity, and Rousey was the queen.
In late 2013, Rousey was set to face number one contender Cat Zingano. With the two set to participate as opposing head coaches in The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 18. After Zingano suffered a serious knee injury, Rousey's old Strikeforce rival, Miesha Tate, took her place.
The two squared off for a second time with Tate showing durability from being able to go past the first round with Rousey, but finally succumbing to an armbar in the 3rd.
Rousey's demeanor on The Ultimate Fighter, as well as her post-fight, non-handshake to Tate drove her to be one of the most polarizing figures of combat sports. Her 'bad-girl' behavior drew strong reactions from critics while her adoring fans billed her as an 'independent, strong-willed woman.' Rousey took hold of this reception by asserting herself as a role-model to young women, while accepting her character as having a "bad-reputation."
After the second Tate fight, Rousey's popularity continued to increase, with an appearance in the film The Expendables 3.
However, not only was Rousey a female-athlete in the mainstream, she was most importantly a MMA fighter.
In 2014, Rousey defended her championship twice; both knockouts, both early in the first round. Against Sara McMann with a knee to the body against the cage, and Alexis Davis with a slew of punches from a scarf-hold position, set up from knee to the body and a powerful judo throw.
Rousey then returned to film with a role in both Furious 7 and Entourage. This further propelled her to superstardom. Along with even more talk-show and television appearances, Ronda Rousey became a household name.
Her fights received the attention of various other celebrities and athletes, many of whom showed support and admiration for Rousey's skills. She seemed unstoppable.
This notion was solidified in 2015, when Rousey defended her belt another two times. Again, they were both early first-round victories: an armbar submission win against Cat Zingano (who Rousey was originally set to face in 2013.), and a knockout win in Brazil against Bethe Correia.
As a result of the wide acceptance of Rousey's success and coverage of Women's MMA, the UFC added a Women's strawweight division, signing a whole new weight class of women onto the roster.
In 2014-15, Rousey defended her belt 4 times and finished each fight in the 1st round with a total fight time of 2 minutes and 12 seconds. With her quick and dominating performances, UFC Commentator Joe Rogan claimed Rousey to be a "once in history athlete."
Rousey clearly seemed to be unstoppable; her first title defense against Carmouche was where we'd seen her go through the worst adversity in her fighting career. The Tate fight after that was the only fight that had gone past the first round. Holding on to a flawless record of 12 wins and 0 losses, with many different ways to win a fight, there weren't many women that were going to stop her.
Then, Holly Holm enters as the number-one contender.
In 2015, "UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm" was a highly promoted event set to take place in Melbourne, Australia. Respect between the two was shown until the day before their fight during their official weigh-in. A post weigh-in scuffle precipitated by Rousey, as well as a social-media post questioning the character of the lovable and fan-friendly Holm turned a good chunk of the fan base against Rousey overnight. A large portion stuck with her, again crediting her 'bad reputation.'
The event would be the most-attended in the promotion's history, with an attendance of over 56,000 people. Reaping the benefits of Rousey's popularity and the intrigue in Women's MMA, the co-main event was a Women's Strawweight championship fight. UFC 193 showcased of two Women's championship bouts, the first of its kind.
Holly Holm was unlike any opponent Rousey ever faced. Typically, (foolishly), opponents would try to stay close and brawl with the champion trying to establish dominance only to get quickly beaten. But not Holm, she had a different game plan.
Holly Holm, with many years of boxing and kickboxing experience, knew how to keep her distance and use her range. Long kicks and punches kept Rousey from coming in close. The fight briefly went to the ground, where Holm managed to defend an armbar attempt. By the end of the first round, Rousey was exhausted with blood coming out of her mouth. In the second round, it was much of the same. Rousey was desperate to get on the inside and clinch with Holm, whose strikes had continued to take their toll on the champion. After a push-off from Holm defending Rousey's clumsy clinch attempt, Rousey stumbled to her knee on the mat. As she stood up and turned around to face her opponent, Holm sent a left high kick to Rousey's neck, knocking the queen of Women's MMA out cold. A couple of follow up hammer-fists sealed the deal.
Rousey lost in the most devastating fashion, and Holly Holm was the new queen of the division. The fight was considered to be 'Upset of the Year' by various sports media outlets. Many of her fans and critics looked forward to see how Rousey would bounce back. Mostly everyone wanted to see the dominant and once-unstoppable former champion return and hopefully contend for a title again.
In front of a nationwide audience, Rousey revealed on The Ellen Show that she contemplated suicide after her loss to Holly Holm. This revelation of her mental state put her immediate fighting future into question. However, it was widely speculated that if Rousey were to return, it would be an immediate rematch against Holm. This was in many fans' eyes a fair match up to make, due to Rousey's long time dominance as champion.
Refusing to wait for Rousey, who decided to take a hiatus from fighting, Holly Holm decided to defend her belt against Miesha Tate in 2016. The former rival of Rousey defeated Holm with a fifth-round rear naked choke, rendering Holm unconscious.
In summer 2016, Miesha Tate faced Amanda Nunes for Tate's title. Nunes beat the champion by first-round rear naked choke. This allowed for the Women's Bantamweight championship to change hands as many times as there are titleholders after Rousey. The end to her long reign changed the dynamics of the division even more than expected.
Ronda Rousey is still considered an active fighter, and it's expected to create a buzz when details of her return are announced. Until then, she'll continue to be seen in print ads and television commercials. However, with every week that passes, every event that takes place, when new stars are built, and new controversies arise in MMA, the shine of Ronda Rousey's return slowly loses its luster.
