Ronda Rousey: Official Discussion Thread

[stymie]

Chat with Ronda Rousey

SportsNation

Rousey, who posed in ESPN The Magazine's 2012 The Body Issue, made her pro MMA debut in 2011.

Welcome to SportsNation! On Friday, we'll go inside the cage when Strikeforce's women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey stops by to chat about her most recent title defense.

Rousey (6-0), @RondaRousey, finished off Sarah Kaufman on Aug. 18 in 54 seconds via submission for her first title defense. She has won all six of her professional fights via submission, including her bout against Miesha Tate in March when she won the bantamweight title in her debut in the weight class.

Send your questions now and join Rousey Friday at 1 p.m. ET!

More Special Guests: Previous chats | SportsNation

Buzzmaster
(1:00 PM)
Strikeforce's women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will be here in minutes to take your questions!

Buzzmaster
(1:05 PM)
Ronda is here!

Alex (Anaheim)
I saw you on Conan recently. What's it like getting all this attention?

Ronda Rousey
(1:07 PM)
It's very time consuming. It's very cool. But it's also very hard to organize around my training. Luckily, I have a lot of people that I can pust that on to. I get the schedule and show up and get to do the fun stuff. So close to fights, I do prefer to be left alone some more. But doing Conan was fun.

BJ (MT)
Now that Kayla Harrison has won a gold in Judo at the London Olympics! What kind of advice/help would you give her, if she were to make the jump to womens MMA?

Ronda Rousey
(1:08 PM)
I would advise her to try and fight at 145. I think she should get a very good nutritionist. Cutting weight is very dangerous for her due to her health. I think she has nothing but potential. She would do very well.

Freddy (Alabama)
How closely do you follow the Olympics, having been a former athlete?

Ronda Rousey
(1:09 PM)
I try to watch as much as possible. The only thing I didn't like was that in the United States, they only show a few sports on TV that the U.S. is a shoe-in to win. I feel like it's the Olympics for everyone, not the Olympics for the U.S. There is only so much indoor volleyball you can watch.

Jeff (MI)
what is your take on the Jon Jones situation...do you think he should have accepted a fight on 8 days notice?? (i do)

Ronda Rousey
(1:10 PM)
If I were him, I would have accepted the fight. I don't know his exact situation, so I can't judge him and I haven't talked to him. But it seems the way this has played out that it would have been better for him to have taken the fight and losing now versus taken a fight later and losing. I'm just sorry for everyone that was inconvenienced by all of this, especially the fighters on the undercard.

LIOR AMS (Los Angeles)
Ronda Hey how are you? Just so you know I'm a big fan and I was in your last FIGHT and I really enjoyed!! I wanted to ask where do you see yourself professionally a few years?

Ronda Rousey
(1:11 PM)
I don't know exactly what I'm going to be doing in a few months from now. If we had a prediction a few years ago about what I'd be doing now, I would have been way off.

Duane (Ohio)
Do you ever envision winning by way of knockout?

Ronda Rousey
(1:12 PM)
I envision my fights going every single way possible. I try to envision my fights in a different scenario each time. By the time we get into the cage, I've thought about the fight and fought it in every possibile way. Knockouts are a part of that.

Chris (Ohio)
How confident are you in your standup? everyone is saying you're a "one trick pony", and I always try to defend it, but I haven't seen much of your standup strategy as of late.

Ronda Rousey
(1:13 PM)
Some of the reason that I clinch so easily is because of my standup. A lot of the girls I've fought before were good grapplers. My striking education was entirely focused on footwork. The first six months was all footwork. I feel like my striking was very good. If you look at my fight stats, I actually hit them more than they hit me. I don't feel a need to go out of my way to make it a striking match when I have less experience. I don't need to change the way I fight due to critics, because critics are critical no matter what. That's why they're critics.

Matt (Chicago)
It seems like Cyborg will only fight you at 145. Would you go up in weight if that's the only way to get a fight with her?

Ronda Rousey
(1:15 PM)
I'm not going up and I don't think it's unreasonable for me to say that someone is taking steroids before and whose limit was 145 and if they're not taking steroids can't fight lower. I don't trust her to fight clean and I don't see any reason to make considerations for someone like that.

Christian (Los Angeles)
Do you fear being arm barred by an opponent or do you have an easy out with all those sneak attacks from your mother in the morning...ARMBARRRR!

Ronda Rousey
(1:16 PM)
I've been arm barred in both arms. I've dislocated both elbows. I know exactly what it's like. I don't intend to be armbarred again. If it happens, I would probably let them break it and try to get out, because that's what I did before. I ended up winning the match, but I had a hard time taking milk out of the fridge for a long time.

Brian (Colorado)
Hey ronda i know your on the warrior diet and your body is amazing can you give us an idea of what you would eat throught the day , is yiur one meal of the dau like 2,000 calories or something...thanks ronda

Ronda Rousey
(1:17 PM)
I only eat one meal a day at night. During the day I mostly only eat berries. The great thing I eat is organic. I eat raw as much as I can. Any kind of chemicals that I couldn't find on the earth 10,000 years ago. If I have beef, it's always grass fed. Now that I make enough money to buy stuff like that I like to spoil myself.

InkMeOn3 (Boston)
Hey Ronda have you booked that vacation yet? Congrats on your win!

Ronda Rousey
(1:18 PM)
My vacation is usually the time I sit on my couch and eat hot wings and play video games. The trip we were planning was a training trip to Thailand. We'll have fun, but it's still training. I think that's the beginning of October.

J. Kali (Cancun)
People keep talking about Dana White "entertaining" the idea of Women in the UFC. What is your take on that? Would you even want to go to the UFC?

Ronda Rousey
(1:19 PM)
Yeah, I would love to fight for them at some point. But right now I fight on Showtime and I'm not complaining at all. I just want to fight who I want to fight, make enough money to get by. How Zuffa broadcasts it is not so much my business.

Cindy (Hong Kong)
Will you return to Judo for 2016 Olympics? Your former teammates kayla and Marti will be in Rio as well.

Ronda Rousey
(1:20 PM)
If I'm bored and they give me a wild card spot, I'll do it. But the process of qualifying for an Olympic team takes many years and 100% of your efforts. I have too many options right now to devote 100% of my energy to judo.

Ronda Rousey
(1:20 PM)
Thank you for showing up for the chat. I appreciate all of the support. I don't mean that in a generic patronizing way, I really mean it.

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by stymie [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

I think they'll eventually settle on 140 as a compromise. Unless one (or both?) of them really is a chicken

I agree. I think Ronda is confident at beating Cyborg, but doesn't want to make it easy for her by agreeing to meet her at 145 lbs. I don't think there's a market for a roided Cyborg, even in the other orgs. Things have moved on. Bantamweight is where its at. I think a big paycheck and the chance of KO'ing Ronda will prove too much of a temptation. It would be really bad sportsmanship if she came in overweight at >140 lbs, though

[stymie]

[sammy_scuffles]

Thanks for the clip and hope its nothing too serious!

Doc thinks it dislocated by just a little bit. I'll be on the shelf for a couple of weeks probably but nothing too bad! Makes walking a nuisance!

Originally Posted by Stewie [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

the title of female MMA G.O.A.T.

Oh she can already have that. She needs more fights to cement it but there's clearly never been anyone like her in Womens MMA. The catch is how long she keeps that title. There will come opponents she can't armbar in a minute and how she reacts to that will be the measure of her.

I agree on almost everything they write, most of all Ronda-Cyborg is not gonna happen soon cause Cyborg, like I said before, is not stupid and knows it'd be her CAREER ENDING BOUT.

That's fairly ridiculous. Why would this fight end her career? Regardless of the result she's still the best 145 pounder around at the moment

You recently called out Cris “Cyborg” Santos -- even calling her “Cyroid” -- and have been outspoken about her recent failed drug test. How much of what she has accomplished do you believe has been artificially enhanced?


I believe all of it has been artificial. You don’t see athletes have successful careers and then suddenly start doping in their prime. Why would they do something like that? The people that dope are a certain kind of people that have a certain kind of mentality and it really just comes from insecurity and thinking that they’re not good enough without it. There’s nothing that’s going to suddenly change a person’s mindset in the middle of their career. Either you have that mindset or you don’t. I feel like if you are a doper, than you are always a doper. I have never tried any performance-enhancing drug in my life. Ever. And there is nothing that can change my mind about that. People that are inclined to do things like that are always inclined to do things like that. It’s not like there is some switch that makes you decide to be a cheater someday.

That's pretty much exactly my opinion. Suspensions for doping should be a LOT longer in fight sports.

all those sneak attacks from your mother in the morning...ARMBARRRR!

That's hilarious. My mother is an expert sneak-attacker too!

I'm worried in case Zuffa cuts Strikeforce and WMMA completely, moving the best male fighters to the UFC in the process. As for McMann, even if Ronda won, I think the detractors would still say she needs to defeat a world-class ADCC opponent, before claiming the title of female MMA G.O.A.T.

Strikeforce is on its last legs. That said, Dana White is well aware that there's money to be made off Rousey. If she doesn't get a for-real supporting cast fairly soon though there's cause for concern. Regardless, Invicta shows potential.


Thanks for the articles and interviews guys, very interesting.

[lucad]

Originally Posted by stymie [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

I've been arm barred in both arms. I've dislocated both elbows. I know exactly what it's like. I don't intend to be armbarred again. If it happens, I would probably let them break it and try to get out, because that's what I did before. I ended up winning the match, but I had a hard time taking milk out of the fridge for a long time.

WOW...I truly believe she would...I'd love to see that...but probably there won't be anyone capable of doing that...maybe Kayla...

[lucad]

Originally Posted by stymie [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

Now that Kayla Harrison has won a gold in Judo at the London Olympics! What kind of advice/help would you give her, if she were to make the jump to womens MMA?

Ronda Rousey
(1:08 PM)
I would advise her to try and fight at 145. I think she should get a very good nutritionist. Cutting weight is very dangerous for her due to her health. I think she has nothing but potential. She would do very well.

I'd bet she doesn't want Kayla around...if she could could cut weight without losing too much of her potential she'd be the only real threat for Ronda....guys that'd be the fight of the century imo...

[lucad]

Originally Posted by sammy_scuffles [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

That's fairly ridiculous. Why would this fight end her career? Regardless of the result she's still the best 145 pounder around at the moment

End her career as the star of the game, yes it would...of corse she could still fight forever if she wants to, but she'd be done for main events/big money. What do you think of kaufman career from now on...do you think she'll ever get a title shot again, after lasting 53 seconds? Same situation will face Cyborg after being armbarred within the first 2 minutes of the fight...this is what I mean!

As for best 145 fighter:
1. she was, like u said, on doping when she was fighting at 145, so she is not the best at all..
2. 145 doesn't mean anything at this moment in WMMA (apparently the next Invicta fc main event will be the 105lbs championship, they're going down in weight, no room for 'big girls' (sadly) in WMMA right now).

Originally Posted by stymie [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

Ronda said:

"If, while she was doping, she could get down to 145, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think that if she’s not doping, she could be lighter. When have you ever heard of somebody taking a bunch of steroids and then stopping and maintaining the same muscle mass? It’s a flawed argument."

this isn't quite how steroids work! like, i get ronda want cyborg to come down but shes being disingenous on that one

but yeah, cyborg would suffer at 135 and a catchweight is the best option...

Originally Posted by lucad [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

End her career as the star of the game, yes it would...

that ship has long since sailed.

[sammy_scuffles]

Originally Posted by lucad [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

End her career as the star of the game, yes it would...of corse she could still fight forever if she wants to, but she'd be done for main events/big money. What do you think of kaufman career from now on...do you think she'll ever get a title shot again, after lasting 53 seconds? Same situation will face Cyborg after being armbarred within the first 2 minutes of the fight...this is what I mean!

As for best 145 fighter:
1. she was, like u said, on doping when she was fighting at 145, so she is not the best at all..
2. 145 doesn't mean anything at this moment in WMMA (apparently the next Invicta fc main event will be the 105lbs championship, they're going down in weight, no room for 'big girls' (sadly) in WMMA right now).

The fact that she was a drug cheat doesn't mean she wasn't the best. Just that she wasn't fairly the best. Unfortunately for her I don't think fans are going to be as willing to forgive her as they appear to be with people like Overeem and Sonnen.

Cyborg probably won't be fighting for the title, I don't think she will get to 135. Kaufman probably won't get another title shot at 135 for a while but the fact of the matter is that her style makes for fun fights so she's still going to get booked on Strikeforce cards.

The only reason 145 doesn't mean anything is that there isn't any contenders. Hopefully that'll change soon. There's plenty of room for the bigger girls, they just haven't arrived yet. (Or they left already!) I'm glad that Invicta is making fights at 115 and 105. The smaller girls deserve a chance to be fighters just as much as the bigger ones do!

On a totally unrelated topic, what the hell is wrong with John Jones and his team (more his team than him, he's just trusting his coaches, they're actively screwing up his career)? Fighting Sonnen and losing is way less damaging to his career than not fighting!

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by sammy_scuffles [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

I'm glad that Invicta is making fights at 115 and 105. The smaller girls deserve a chance to be fighters just as much as the bigger ones do!

Agree completely. One of my top 5 favorite fighters of all time is Satoko Shinashi. Incredibly exciting matches!

Originally Posted by sammy_scuffles [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

On a totally unrelated topic, what the hell is wrong with John Jones and his team (more his team than him, he's just trusting his coaches, they're actively screwing up his career)? Fighting Sonnen and losing is way less damaging to his career than not fighting!

Bones should be able to destroy Chael with one arm tied behind his back. Screwing an entire card by refusing, is selfish. He's a champ FFS! Prime Fedor wouldn't have done that.

BTW. We are a little off-topic, so probably best start a new thread for any more UFC stuff.