Ronda Rousey is a rock star. But that wasn’t always the case for the former UFC bantamweight world champion.

Ronda Rousey has become one of MMA’s biggest stars ever over the past few years, and it all started with her incredible run in the UFC.

Before losing her world title to current Bantamweight champion Holly Holm in November of 2015, Rousey had been racking up an impressive record (12 wins – no losses); what was the most impressive though is HOW she was winning.

In fact, Rousey finished all of her 6 UFC opponents (before fighting Holm) and it took her less than 8 minutes to do so, combined.

Such feat captivated the fans, and even the casual masses, who are not necessarily combat sports fans to begin with. Prestigious media outlets such as Sports Illustrated, The Ellen Show or The Conan O’Brien Show were lining up to get a piece of the fighter. Her popularity rose to unprecedented levels for an MMA fighter.

Success in the Octagon, insane media coverage, big money, fame, Rousey have it all. But it has not been always like this for the star.
In a film set to be released this year titled In Her Father’s Eyes, filmmakers Gary Stretch and Peter Antico followed the life of Ronda Rousey before she became famous. It is quite of an interesting project since that is a side of Rousey most people are not familiar with. Check out a footage from the film below, courtesy of USA TODAY Sports:

The contrast with Rousey’s current life is quite staggering.

As you can see, she used to live very differently just a few years ago. Her house was a total mess. Money was a big issue. She even slept in her car in order to make ends meet.

Thing is, Rousey did not give up her dream of pursuing an MMA career. She worked hard to make that happen, and managed to eventually hit it big after a blood, sweat and tears-filled uphill battle.