Rousey: I aspire to dominate like Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Ronda Rousey: “Floyd Mayweather went through over 40 fights without ever getting a cut. That’s what real domination and real style is in a fighter.”
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey fights BJJ black belt Alexis Davis in the co-main event of UFC 175 on Saturday.
She’s a black belt in jiu-jitsu, so she’s no joke on the ground, said Rousey to John Morgan for MMAJunkie. She’s not somebody I can take unnecessary risks with, and she’s somebody who would definitely be very confident in defending herself.
I don’t just want to win; I want to win and get out of there unscathed. There have been fights where Alexis has hurt her opponent. Her and Kaufman cut each other’s faces up. Even if I win and I walk away with a big face gash, that’s terrible for me. I not only need to win, I need to win without being touched. That’s just the expectation I put on myself. That really places a lot more pressure on the fight, especially with a really grinding fighter like Alexis that has a cement jaw.
Floyd Mayweather went through over 40 fights without ever getting a cut. That’s what real domination and real style is in a fighter. That’s what I really aspire to.
When asked what she still wanted to accomplish, few would have expected her reply.
I’ve always wanted to do a sode tsurikomi goshi in a fight, said Rousey. I won my Olympic bronze medal with that throw, and it was my favorite throw when I did judo. It just doesn’t really apply without a gi, and so my favorite throw, I had to actually give it up when I came to MMA. To do it with no gi, it would take a lot of timing and style, and it would just need to be perfectly done.
I always wish I could pull one more sode out, just for old time’s sake – a shoutout to my judo years.
Sode tsurikomi goshi highlight: