Today, Ronda Rousey is arguably the biggest draw in the WWE. This caps a lifetime of extraordinary successes. Back in 2008 “Rowdy” became the first American female to earn an Olympic medal in judo. In 2011 she began fighting in MMA; by 2013 she was the UFC women’s bantamweight champion, and by far the most famous figure in the sport.
Today, Cain Velasquez is out on $1,000,000 bail after his arrest for attempted murder; more on that later. Back in 2013 Velasquez was the UFC heavyweight champion, and had taken the “Baddest Man on The Planet” from whoever all held boxing heavyweight championships at the time.
When both Rousey and Velasquez were at the peak of their powers, Ronda was asked by Alejandro Yanun, editor for the Spanish-language daily Hoy Newspaper, to comment on whether she was able to beat Cain.
“At some point and in the right circumstance, I believe it is possible,” she replied, via Google translate. “You can’t tell me that it’s physically impossible. It is possible that at some point, if I find a way, I can defeat him. I always believe in my possibilities.”
The discussion continued.
“You sound very sure of yourself,” noted the journalist. “What do men feel when they meet you?”
Rousey stayed true to form.
“Insecure men feel intimidated and don’t dare to approach me,” she replied. “That’s great because I don’t have time for men like that.”
Then Yanun asked who her ideal male was.
“I am alone and I have a 100% relationship with sport,” she said. “I am like any other person. I don’t know… I look at everyone and one day I will decide.”
By 2017, Rousey had decided, and married retired UFC heavyweight Travis Browne. “Hapa” had beaten a murder’s row including Stefan Struve, Gabriel Gonzaga, Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, Brendan Schaub (who earlier dated Rousey), and Matt Mitrione. Then Browne fought Velasquez and lost, and then lost the next three fights. Browne is a massive talent, particularly considering that his background was not in combat sports, but in basketball. But there are levels to this, and Velasquez is at the very highest level.
Given that Rousey’s husband is a professional fighter, over 100 pounds larger than she is, and he was never the same after fighting Velasquez, her remarks about defeating the baddest man on the planet are perhaps not rational. But there’s the thing, MMA is not a rational sport. Fighting another human being, with each win leading to fighting another, scarier human being, requires an irrationally massive degree of confidence.
Rousey’s comment about Velasquez was not a one-time thing. Two years later she was on ESPN’s SportsCenter and was asked how she would do vs. the men’s bantamweight division.
“I never say that I’m incapable of beating anybody, because I don’t believe in putting limits on myself,” said Rousey, as transcribed by MMA Fighting. “So I mean, I would have to say if you’re just talking about what’s in the realm of possibility, of what’s possible of who I could beat, well I could beat 100 percent of them. You can’t tell me that there’s a zero percent chance that I can beat anyone on the planet, so I’m never gonna say that.”
It is incontrovertinble that Ronda Rousey is audacious in the extreme. What do you think of it?
And lastly, let’s turn to a weightier matter, the upcoming legal proceedings against Velasquez. After learning that his son had allegedly been molested by Harry Goularte Jr., Velasquez allegedly rammed a vehicle containing Goularte Jr., Goularte’s stepfather, and mother, then chased it, firing multiple rounds, one of which hit the stepfather in the arm causing non-life-threatening injuries. Opinions are mixed, but UFC president Dana White summed up the opinion of the majority.
“We all say we’d do it if it ever happened to us,” said White. “Cain did it.
Ronda agreed, fervently.
I would have done the same thing if not worse,” wrote Rousey on her social network.
I would have done the same thing if not worse #freeCainVelasquez
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) March 3, 2022
#freeCainVelasquez
