The most dominant athlete in any sport today, is a woman, Ronda Rousey. She is a mixed martial arts fighter in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). On Saturday night at UFC 190, she extended her undefeated streak to 12, with a 34-second demolition of previously undefeated Bethe Correia of Brazil, in Rio De Janeiro.
Rousey, who is from the United States, had extra motivation for this fight, when Correia mouthed off about the suicide of Rousey’s father. Rousey said she crossed the line, and showed the beatdown you receive once that line has been crossed.
This was the 11th first round submission or knockout in Rousey’s 12 fights. It brings to mind the domination of a young Mike Tyson in boxing. Tyson’s first 12 fights included 9 first round knockouts. The only bad part of both of their performances is the brevity of their pay-per-view experiences. You can’t blame them for being that good, but the short fights are disappointing.
Rousey dedicated the match to recently deceased wrestler, Roddy Piper, who Rousey took the nickname “Rowdy” from. Normally, Rousey wins by submission, but this time Correia, who questioned her punching power, learned that she had plenty.
Rousey’s popularity keeps rising with each dominant win. It doesn’t hurt that she’s attractive, especially outside the ring. At first, UFC President Dana White said he wasn’t interested in having women fight in the UFC. I’m sure he’s very glad that he changed his mind. He says that Rousey is the reason he did change his mind.
With some of the top male stars in the UFC testing positive for drugs, including Anderson Silva for steroids, and Jon Jones for cocaine, Rousey has become the rising star of the sport, and perhaps the biggest star overall now.
Like all dominant athletes and teams, they will have many fans always rooting for them, as well as fans hoping to knock them off the top of the heap. This only helps the popularity of a sport in this position. Who knew that the women’s portion of the UFC would become this big, this fast, mainly because of one person, Ronda Rousey?
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