Ronda Rousey’s professional MMA debut set the tone for her career as it was exciting, devastatingly quick and featured a famous submission.
In 2008, Rousey became the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in judo when she claimed bronze at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.
5Rousey’s first sport was judoCredit: IG: @annmaria7gen
However, she retired from the sport at just 21 years old and started to train in MMA before making her debut on March 27, 2011.
Rousey’s first opponent, Ediane Gomes, was no pushover. The Brazilian boasted a 6-1 record heading into their fight and had only ever lost against MMA legend Amanda Nunes.
The retired two-weight UFC champion needed almost two full rounds to take out Gomes, but ‘Rowdy’ managed to do so in just 25 seconds at ‘King of the Cage [KOTC]: Turning point.’
When the fight began, Rousey took a second to gauge her opponent before leaping in with a jab and closing the distance so she could make the most of her judo skills.
Gomes landed a punch, but it didn’t stop the future UFC Hall of Famer from getting to a clinch position and beginning to work on throwing her to the cage floor.
Rousey was unable to execute the throw as her opponent fell backwards, but she did end up in top position before taking mount and raining down with head strikes.
As Gomes turned away to avoid punches, the MMA debutant smartly grabbed onto one of her limbs and locked up an armbar submission to earn the tap after just 25 seconds.
It was her first official fight, but Rousey’s relationship with that particular lock was already well-established as she pulled it off in all three of her amateur bouts.
5Rousey threatened with strikes in her debutCredit: King of the Cage
5But it wasn’t long before she switched to her favourite submissionCredit: King of the Cage
It became Rousey’s signature move during her journey to UFC superstardom.The now 36-year-old beat her next five opponents with the same submission and became Strikeforce’s bantamweight champion in the process.
Rousey’s incredible win streak convinced UFC CEO Dana White, who once famously ruled out women ever competing in his promotion, to launch a female division.
Two more armbar wins and another title came inside the Octagon before the American began to round out her game with improved striking.
5The armbar made ‘Rowdy’ a champion in two promotionsCredit: Getty
5She even used it in the WWE
Three of her next four wins came by TKO/KO, but she still showcased her signature move in a brilliant 14-second title defence against Cat Zingano in February 2015.
Rousey’s MMA career came to a disastrous end when she suffered back-to-back KO defeats against Holly Holm and Nunes before retiring from the sport in 2016, later insisting she hung on for too long.
“I think it was difficult [to quit] in both judo and MMA, in that everyone else felt that they wanted more from me,” Rousey explained to Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier in 2022. “Like, in judo you peak in your mid-20s. I medaled at 21 so I was going to be 25 for the next Olympics. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, this is it! You’re going to be the first [American woman] to win an Olympic gold!’ And I didn’t want it anymore, and I couldn’t do it for everybody else.
“And I think that’s a mistake that I made with MMA, was when I got to that point where I didn’t want it anymore, I kept doing it for everybody else.”
Since retiring, Rousey has become one of professional wrestling’s biggest stars and has incorporated her favourite submission into her WWE journey.
Today, she is a free agent and is weighing up options before announcing her next move.
Fans would love to see her back for UFC 300, which is set to be the biggest card in the promotion’s illustrious history. However, rumours about a UFC comeback have been shut down by White, but fans are still hoping to see Rousey secure one more armbar win in the Octagon before it’s all said and done.
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