Ronda Rousey is living proof that you don’t have to stay in your lane.
Today, ‘Rowdy’ is one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling, but over the years she’s enjoyed massive success in judo, mixed martial arts, and acting.
Rousey made history at the 2008 OlympicsCredit: AFP
Rousey became the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in judo when she claimed bronze at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing – she then retired from the sport at just 21 years old.
The 36-year-old then started her mission to become an MMA star.
It was a bold and potentially catastrophic career move, as the sports premier promotion – UFC – had never put on a female fight and its president, Dana White, had no intention of doing so.
In January 2011, the UFC CEO was leaving a restaurant when he was approached by a paparazzi who asked: “When are we gonna see women in the UFC?”
“Never,” White famously responded before Rousey came along, convinced him to create female divisions and revolutionised MMA in the best way imaginable.
Two years later, Rousey boasted a perfect 6-0 record after tapping out all of her opponents in the first round with her signature move – the armbar – to become the Strikeforce bantamweight champion.
The mother of one did the same thing to Liz Carmouche in her UFC debut before ending her rivalry with Miesha Tate with a third-round armbar win in December 2013.
Rousey finished her next four UFC bantamweight title defences in the very first round, but she showed her game was evolving by picking up three KO/TKO victories.
‘Rowdy’ broke down barriers for women in MMACredit: Getty
And proved Dana White wrong in the best way possibleCredit: Getty
The 12-0 fighter had become a global icon and the biggest star on White’s roster by the time she ran into former boxing champion Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November 2015.
Holm scored a stunning second-round KO win to take Rousey’s title and essentially end her MMA career before Amanda Nunes officially retired ‘The Baddest Woman on the Planet’ 13 months later.
Rousey continued breaking down barriers when she became the first woman inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018 – White couldn’t have been happier his stance on female fighting was proven wrong.
The UFC legend parlayed her celebrity status into a career in Hollywood.
Rousey launched a film career during her UFC runCredit: Handout
Today, she is a pro wrestling superstar
Rousey has several credits to her name after starring in the most recent Charlie’s Angels film, Mile 22, Entourage, Furious 7 and a TV series called 9-1-1.
Most memorably, she also appeared in Expendables 3 alongside some of the best action actors in the business – including ‘Rocky’ star Sylvester Stallone – in 2014.
Harrison Ford, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Antonio Banderas. Wesley Snipes, Mel Gibson and Terry Crews were just some of the other people who made up the ensemble cast.
Since then, Rousey has been perfecting her acting skills in the WWE where she won three tiles before ending her run with the company earlier this year.
The hottest free agent in combat sports recently made an appearance for a minor professional wrestling league, Ring of Honour, but she hasn’t revealed what her next move will be yet.
