"There’s only one person I would come back for" - SmackDown Women's Champion Ronda Rousey on MMA career
SmackDown Superstar Ronda Rousey recently cited MMA legend Gina Carano as her dream opponent in the octagon.
Rousey is currently the SmackDown Women's Champion in her first reign. She defeated Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania Backlash in an I Quit match for the title. Ronda Rousey made her in-ring debut in WWE at WrestleMania 34 where she teamed with Kurt Angle against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. In August 2019, she defeated Alexa Bliss to win her first title in the company.
The Baddest Woman on the Planet is known for her time as a mixed martial artist and UFC champion. She began her MMA career in 2011. She competed in her last match against Amanda Nunes in December 2016 but lost the fight due to a technical knockout in the first round. Rousey was the first female inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame in July 2018.
The former RAW Women's Champion recently appeared on The Kurt Angle Show where she talked about her dream opponent if she ever returned to MMA. Rousey stated that Gina Carano was the reason she got into fighting and would be ready at any time or place to face the MMA competitor.
"No [Rousey initially said when asked if she’ll ever get back into the octagon]. Well… There’s only one person. There’s only one person I would come back for. I mean, I’ve said it a million times. It’s not like it’s something new but, for Gina man. Gina Carano, she’s the reason why I got into fighting, she’s the reason why I knew it was a possibility. I will always be forever grateful… and if she ever was like, ‘Ronda, I wanna fight you tomorrow at 205 pounds,’ like whatever the hell she’d want — I’m not saying she’s 205 pounds — if she wanted to come into my backyard and do the Rocky thing or, you know, ding, ding and we just do it in the backyard, I don’t care." [H/T POST Wrestling]
Check out the entire interaction below:
In a previous interview on the Joe Rogan Experience 690 podcast, the WWE Superstar stated that a fight between Carano and her was scheduled for December 2014 but it never came to fruition.
Ronda Rousey addressed the conclusion of main event at WrestleMania 35
In 2019, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey created history by being the first women to main the event The Show of Shows. The women competed in a triple threat match with the RAW and SmackDown Women's Championships on the line.
While Lynch emerged as the winner, the match is known for its controversial ending. When The Man pinned Rousey, it was apparent that the latter's shoulders were on the mat for only a two count.
In the same interaction with the Hall of Famer on The Kurt Angle Show, Rousey voiced her thoughts about the conclusion of the match. She stated that she was attempting to flattern her shoulder and shimmy down and did not realized that the referee had started the count by then.
"I didn't think my shoulder was down. I was trying to flatten out to put my shoulder more down. So like that's what was happening. I thought it was just the very top of my shoulder. So I was trying to shimmy down. So the actual backs of my shoulders were down and I didn't know that he had already started counting. So or that my shoulder came up during the shimmy."[H/T POST Wrestling]
Ronda Rousey #WrestleMania 35 entrance. Live performances by Joan Jett "Bad Reputation".
#wwe #raw #SDLive #smackdown https://t.co/7D8dM9nVjl
Ronda Rousey is set to defend her title against Natalya at the upcoming Money in the Bank premium live event next month.