During the rise of women’s MMA, Ronda Rousey was one of the most feared fighters on the planet. The Olympic gold medalist in Judo spearheaded the rise of women’s MMA. For her contribution, Rousey is regarded as one of the greatest to step into the octagon. However, former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen feels Rousey’s success in the sport was manipulated.

Sonnen believes that Rousey’s career was heavily dictated by the UFC. ‘The American Gangster’ said, “The division was just too new. We hadn’t had enough fights yet. So that’s where this overhyped business comes from. Ronda’s story is a tremendous success story…”

He added, “How did she do it? How did she captivate? … There was maneuvering. There was manipulation… a lot of really smart things done. The story of Ronda was a great one for promotion.”

“The boss (Dana White) came out and said, ‘This is the biggest star in the sport.’ I went to her fight in-person when she took on Sara McMann. This was at the height of her popularity; this was a world-title defense. The building sat 13,800, we had 7,500 people. In fairness, the story was never told straight, and the rankings were wrong, and the championships were suspect.”

Regardless of the take people have on Rousey, one can’t deny that she had one of the most successful careers in the octagon. The fighter proved herself in one of the toughest organizations.

Ronda Rousey’s career in the UFC

After stringing a couple of wins, Ronda Rousey was signed by the UFC in 2012. After her signing, Rousey was declared the UFC bantamweight champion. However, there was an uncertainty against whom Rousey would defend her title. While many refused to fight her, Liz Carmouche stepped up to the challenge.

Carmouche did not prove to be anything different for Rousey as she successfully defended her belt by winning via an armbar. In her next fight, Rousey faced Miesha Tate in a rematch, which was once again won by the former. Rousey defended her title 4 more times against the likes of Alexis Davis and Cat Zingano.

DIVE DEEPER

However, things went south for Rousey when she faced Holly Holm at UFC 193. While Rousey tried to initiate the clinch, Holm managed distance well and land her strikes. Eventually, she knocked out Rousey in round 2 and became the new champion.

A year after her fight against Holm, Rousey faced Amanda Nunes for the UFC bantamweight title. However, this was another disappointing outing for Rousey as she lost via TKO in Round 1.

Since her loss to Nunes, Ronda Rousey did not make her come back to the octagon. She eventually transitioned into pro wrestling and even appeared in the movies.

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