Ronda Rousey Continues Revolution

Ronda Rousey is more than an athletic phenomenon; she’s a part of pop-culture.

Since her last fight, Rousey became the first female athlete to co-host ESPN’s SportsCenter and the first mixed martial artist to ever be on the cover of The Ring: Magazine, and her name is featured in pop star Demi Lovato’s album Confident.

For her latest fight this Saturday against Holly Holm, the UFC has gone all in to capitalize on what they are calling the #RouseyRevolution which has included videos of young female athletes displaying dynamic prowess to illustrate the effect that Rousey is having on sports.

There is no doubt that countless young girls have been inspired to learn martial arts by watching Rousey’s dominance over the past few years.

But if there is a revolution occurring, it is far more than just the increase in female attendance at gyms across the world.

https://instagram.com/p/7DN0-gBEWv/?taken-by=rondarousey

Rousey’s rise to global prominence has had an impact on what a female athlete looks like.

As explored in the Nine for IX film Branded, the way in which female athletes portray themselves is so often split between the line of wholesomeness and overtly sexual in nature.

There are plenty of examples where female athletes see contrasting styles of promotion.

One case is Serena Williams compared to Maria Sharapova, another is Abby Wambach compared to Alex Morgan.

Through appearances in Maxim and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Rousey has joined the ranks of Danica Patrick and Lindsay Vonn as female athletes who were able to cross the line of negative image and professionalism.

In short, she’s joined those athletes that can cross the line between men’s magazines while remaining a role model that parents can get behind for their children.

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There is a huge difference between the athletes mentioned above and Rousey — frankly, she is a fighter.

The sport of MMA is the pinnacle of male-friendly sports, from the ring girls to the beer commercials.

Only fifteen years ago, the sport was on life support and considered too violent for television.

Jump ahead to the present day, the UFC is on network television and it’s star attraction is a blonde swimsuit model en route to breaking promotional records.

Dating back to her fights in Strikeforce, all of Rousey’s matches have been one-sided demolitions.

She set the record for the fastest victory in UFC championship history with 16 seconds, and in her following outing she broke her own record in 14 seconds.

Only one of her fights has been past the first round — a feat unheard of for even the greatest fighters in the sports history.

Her dominance has outdone Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, and Jon Jones, combined, in terms of efficiency.

Rousey is putting eyes on the sport that don’t watch otherwise.

The support that the UFC has shown her is a visible step for feminism in a way that hasn’t been seen before.

She sacrifices none of her femininity while demonstrating she is as technical, focused, and down-right vicious in the cage as any of the men.

When she meets “The Preacher’s Daughter” in the cage, Rousey is expected to be an 18-1 favorite and will have the crowd on her side.

Assuming she is victorious, it would be her eighth victory over a top-ten opponent.

There are only two fighters after Saturday who Rousey has not faced in the top-ten.

The first is Amanda Nunes who is ranked number four, however she has only one win over another top-ten opponent.

The second is Julianna Pena who has missed the last two years due to injury and similarly only one win over a ranked fighter.

The shadow of Cris “Cyborg” has yet to materialize, although the Brazilian did announce her next fight is set to be at 140 pounds in Invite FC.

Bottom Line: Rousey is ridiculous for all the right reasons.

Familiar rival Miesha Tate also remains the number one contender in the division.

The promotion is planning it’s biggest show next summer.

If Rousey remains healthy, it is inconceivable to think that any other fighter will headline the main event regardless of what happens this Saturday.