Ronda Rousey is the most popular female fighter competing today and her name will become even more known around the sports world when she takes part in the first ever female fight in UFC history on Saturday.
Rousey is the UFC women's bantamweight champion and has been such a dominant fighter that president Dana White created a whole class for her to fight in. Rousey previously won the Olympic bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympics and will now have one of the biggest challenges of her career.
"She's mean and she's nasty and she wants to finish people," White said to Yahoo Sports. "She's a Diaz brother trapped inside of a pretty woman's body. She's a real fighter."
Rousey's signature move is the armbar and she will defend her title in UFC 157 at the Honda Center in Anaheim against Liz Carmouche, the UFC's first openly gay fighter. The fight also marks the first time women will ever compete in the UFC.
Rousey spoke with Yahoo Sports about fighting an openly gay athlete and the stigma that follows many in the sports world.
"Really? Why don't we just grow up a little bit," she says. "We're not 12. We're supposed to be adults here. If I were gay, I'd totally be out. I'm happy for her. I totally support that. It doesn't matter to me [that Carmouche is gay]. I'm still going to try to yank her arm off either way."
Rousey signed in November with UFC and originally turned pro in March of 2011 after arm-barring Miesha Tate to take home the Strikeforce bantamweight title. Rousey has risen in name recognition and has appeared on a number of late night television shows as well as on the cover of ESPN the Magazine. She will also be featured on "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" on Tuesday.
Rousey has improved her skills in the ring over the past year and offers a solid combination of speed and strength when attacking opponents. Some have said that Rousey is so good that she could one day fight against men.
Rousey signed back in the winter and White spoke about it with Jim Rome at the time.
"She's a real fighter and she's very talented," the UFC president said of the 25-year-old Californian while speaking with Rome. "She has the credentials, the pedigree, I mean everything. I think she has that 'it' factor. I think she's going to be a big superstar. This girl is nasty."
Rousey has fought a number of fights on Showtime and is the current Strikeforce champion. She defeated Miesha Tate in March by armbar submission in the first round to win the title. She was also became the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in Judo after winning a bronze medal in the Beijing games.
In her career, Rousey has won a gold medal at the Pan American Games, a silver in the World Championships as well as two gold medals at the Pan American Judo Championships. She was also the youngest judo competitor at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
According to ESPN.com, Rousey will lead a class of about eight women that will move from Strikeforce to the UFC next year. Rousey is ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter by MMARising.com and is 6-0 in her MMA career.
