Wonder Woman of the Week: Ronda Rousey

This week’s spotlight makes the “Probably a real-life Wonder Woman” list. She competed in the Olympics, holds an undefeated record, and helped make women’s mixed martial arts a mainstream sport. Ronda Rousey is the Wonder Woman of the Week.

Rounda Jean Rousey was born in California with the umbilical chord wrapped around her neck. Her brain was damaged from the lack of oxygen and she was unable to speak until she was six. When Rousey was only eight, her father suffered a terminal back injury and committed suicide. Ronda struggled in school and often had to be homeschooled, but found an outlet when her mom convinced her to learn judo. Rousey’s mom- AnnMaria De Mars- was a champion judoka and trained her daughter to fight. (Sounds a lot like Hippolita and Diana to me.) [1]

Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey is the current bantamweight champion of the UFC. If that’s not already an accomplishment, Rousey was mostly responsible for women being allowed to compete in the UFC. She convinced UFC President Dana White to open competition to women inside the “octagon” and won the Strikeforce bantamweight title in 2012. Rousey defended that title the following year- making a name for herself in the sport. The bantamweight champion’s favorite finish was the armbar- a move her mother stressed during training- and it usually brought Rousey a first round win. (Her fastest win was in fourteen seconds against Cat Zingano. She used the armbar.) [2]

The athlete is currently undefeated in mixed martial arts and only lost one judo match earning the broze at the 2008 Olympics. In twelve professional fights, Rousey finished in one round in all but one of them. Nine of those finished with armbars and the most recent on August first (2015) ended with a Knock-Out punch thirty-four seconds in. [3]

The bantamweight champion is not only a house-hold name in women’s sports, Ronda Rousey has become a household name in sports. She started the women’s UFC competition and is the current undefeated champion. Rousey’s an Olympian, Mixed Martial Arts champion, and will be portraying herself in an upcoming biographical film. She could easily be a real-life Wonder Woman, and I would certainly have no issue with her taking over a superhero show as any character.

“Ronda Rousey Biography” 2015. Biography.com. Accessed 5 August 2015.

“’Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey” 2015. UFC. Accessed 5 August 2015.

“Ronda ‘Rowdy’ Rousey” 2015. Sherdog. Accessed 5 August 2015.