UFC story part 5: Ronda Rousey and beyond
On August 6th, 2010, Ronda Rousey made her amateur MMA debut against Hayden Munoz.
Rousey won in 23 seconds via her signature armbar. Rousey then entered the Tuff-N-Uff 145lbs women’s tournament. After victories in the quarter and semi-final, she announced plans to turn pro on the back of a perfect 3-0 amateur record.
Around the same time, the UFC was surging. Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre were at their peak and pulling in record numbers. While basking in the reflected glory of their greatest champions, the UFC were also casting an eye to the future.
They knew it would only be a matter of time before both of these legendary fighters called it a day and they needed a new superstar to emerge. However, that superstar, in Dana White’s mind, was going to be a man. When asked about the possibility of women competing in the UFC, Dana categorically slammed the door saying “never.”
Rousey however, would not be deterred. Unable to sign with the biggest dog in the sport, she made her way to Strikeforce, which at the time was the premier destination for women.
After a controversial win on her debut with Strikeforce where referee Steve Mazzagatti apparently stopped the fight too early, Rousey went on to win her second fight against Julia Budd, dislocating Budd’s arm in the process.
After the fight she announced plans to drop down to 145lbs to challenge Miesha Tate, the reigning Strikeforce champion with who she had developed a very public and extremely bitter rivalry. On March 3, 2012, Rousey beat Tate to become the new Strikeforce bantamweight champion.
Meanwhile, though his stance overall had not changed, it seemed that Dana White was open to the idea of women in the UFC, however stated that there was not enough depth for a women’s division in the promotion.
Rousey would appear in a special TV documentary revolving around her fighting career. She was being booked on talk shows and was taking the internet by storm. There was now a huge public clamouring for Rousey and her challengers to be inducted into the UFC roster.
Dana himself was now no longer denying the possibility of women in the fabled octagon stating in an interview, “In the next 10 years, if there’s a woman in the octagon, it’s probably going to Ronda Rousey.”
Rousey would successfully defend her Strikeforce women’s championship against Sarah Kaufman, beating her opponent via armbar in 54 seconds.
The tides seemed to have changed for Rousey and for women in MMA at this point. The opposition to their inclusion in the sport now rested with the minority. The UFC were coming under increasing pressure to create a women’s division and Ronda Rousey was quickly becoming a household name.
In November 2012, the UFC announced the creation of the Women’s 135lbs bantamweight division with Ronda Rousey as the first champion.
It was a historic moment for the sport and the promotion. A decision that changed the direction of the organisation. With Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre both on the way down, Rousey stepped in to become the face of the UFC.
Ronda Rousey has led the charge for women in MMA. She has rallied against a system that wanted to keep her down, against sexism that forced her out of multiple gyms and against the doubters and deniers and she has prevailed every time. There are still those who are uncomfortable with women in the sport.
There is a vocal minority that believes that the UFC should scrap the women’s divisions and focus on the development and promotion of male talent. However, if anyone wants any proof that these people are the minority, and that women are now part of the UFC fabric, just wait for next Sunday. Ronda Rousey will headline the UFC’s first ever stadium show in Australia.
When male fighters find it difficult to sell out arenas in their home country, Ronda Rousey is going to do in on the other side of the world. She is the biggest star in the sport’s history, an inspiration to millions, a joy to watch in the octagon, and the best decision the UFC ever made.
Even if she loses next week, the conversation has been changed and the UFC, through the success of its women fighters, has become a global juggernaut.