The rapid rise of UFC star Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey

By Ryan Norton

If you left the room immediately before the beginning of the Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano main event this past Saturday at UFC 184, chances are you missed the entire fight.

It only took Rousey only 14 seconds to defeat number one contender Zingano by submission with an armbar wrestling move.

With a perfect professional record of 11-0, the former Olympian has taken the male-dominated Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) by a storm.

Prior to her jump into mixed martial arts, Rousey was a decorated judo fighter and was the first American woman to win an Olympic judo medal, having won the bronze medal in 2008 at the Beijing Games.

In 2012, Rousey became the first woman signed by the UFC and was immediately promoted to the Women’s Bantamweight Champion of the world.

Since her first title defense in February of 2013, Rousey has run through top-ranked contenders in the company. Of her 11 professional victories, seven of those fights were over in less than one minute.

Including her win this past Saturday, Rousey’s last two fights have lasted a combined 30 seconds and after her win on Saturday, media outlets, and even UFC President Dana White were comparing Rousey’s meteoric rise to that of boxer Mike Tyson.

Due to her success within the UFC, Rousey has become a pop culture superstar, appearing in the 2015 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, as well as the films ‘The Expendables 3’ and the upcoming  ‘Furious Seven’ and ‘Entourage’ releases.

“I worked my entire life to be the most dangerous unarmed woman on the planet,” Rousey said, in the pre-fight interview. “I’m going to show everyone why I’m the best in the world.”

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