15 Things You Didn’t Know About Rhonda Rousey
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Rhonda Rousey is an American athlete. She’s a mixed martial artist, judoka champion, and even a gymnast. After her long ride of defending her UFC championship title, Rhonda shot to the top and became a household name. Everyone and their uncle knew who Rhonda Rousey was. She was the ultimate fighter, the icon for girls all over the globe, and one of the most gorgeous fighters to ever grace the league. She’s a well respected athlete and fan favorite. But just like any celebrity, there’s always stuff we don’t know, stuff that doesn’t often get mentioned in interviews or used to promote them in their career. These details are often irrelevant to what made them famous, but fans and non fans alike always dig to find out everything they can about celebrities. So we’ll make it easy for you. Here’s 15 things we bet you didn’t know about Rhonda Rousey.
1) Ex-Vegan
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Yep, you read that right. Rhonda Rousey is now on a strict “warrior’s diet” mainly consisting of meats and vegetables, but she was once a vegan. Back in her days of being an Olympian, Rhonda ate a steady diet of pure vegan ingredients. It helped her to stay lean and healthy while training all year round for the Olympics. Which brings us to our next unknown fact about Rhonda.
2) Olympic Medalist
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Rhonda Rousey gets a lot of flack for being just a pretty face and some say she’s not a real athlete. She’s even been told numerous times to quite the league so she doesn’t mess up her pretty face. Well those who doubt would be surprised to know that Rhonda actually came from Olympic roots. She’s a 2008 bronze medalist in Judo and kicked butt doing it. She even holds the title as the first ever female to win an Olympic medal in the Judo category. This is a typical case of judging a book by its cover. She’s not just a pretty girl, she’s an athletic force to be reckoned with.
3) Up & Coming Actress
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Rhonda always said when asked about her likes and hobbies that she’d love to get into acting. And when you’re at the top it’s not hard to get someone to make your wants and wishes come true. She’s guest appeared in many TV shows and movies such as Entourage, Expendables, and Fast & Furious. She is rumored to act in the new upcoming Fast 8 movie as well as the new Baywatch film with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. She could probably learn a lot from him as he made the flip from sports to film when he left the wrestling world.
4) Prodigy Child
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We all have our influences and reasons for liking the things we do. The same can be said for Rhonda’s career choice. Her mother, Ann Maria De Mars was a world Judo Champion and the first US citizen to ever win the title. Talk about good genes, Rhonda must have grown up idolizing her fabulous and fierce mother and it’s clear now where Rhonda gets her talents from.
5) Very First Women’s Champion Ever
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Just like her mother before her, Rhonda was born to set and break records. The first Rhonda Rousey record is the first ever Women’s Champion in the UFC, and she’s also the Strikeforce Bantamweight Champion and still holds that title. No one has been able to challenge her and win those titles from Rhonda, and it doesn’t look like they will anytime soon. Although she recently lost a fight to opponent Holly Holm, Rhonda still ranks at the top and is rearing to go for round two with Holm anytime.
6) Raisinet Disaster
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When you imagine Rhonda Rousey’s first trip to the ER you probably picture the result of a bloody fight, broken bones in tow, while Rhonda is rushed to the hospital. But that’s not the case for Rousey. Her very first trip to the ER was due to the placement of a stubborn Raisinet. Yep, you read that right. Rhonda got a Raisinet, those delicious chocolate covered raisin treats, stuck up her nose. It went so far up that her mother couldn’t get it out so she had no choice but to bring her daughter to the hospital. Talk about embarrassing. Good thing it happened years ago, otherwise that story would have been all over the news.
7) Armbar Pro
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We all have our specialties, something we’re extremely good at. Well, Miss Rousey rocks the armbar move, hands down. Rhonda Rousey has won 11 of the 12 fights she’s competed in, and 9 of those suckers were won using the armbar. She dominates the special move and she swears that it’s her ticket to winning. Her opponents know that once they’re in the Rhonda Rousey armbar hold, they may as well give up. It’s all over then so just give up and let nature take it’s course as Rhonda the snake tightens her grip.
8) Nicknamed by a God
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Growing up, and throughout the early years of her career, Rhonda was given the nickname “Rowdy” by her friends and family. It was mostly due to her tomboyish ways and her fondness for sports. But as her career progressed, Rhonda worried that people would think she was trying to be like the legendary Rowdy Roddy Piper, one of her idols, and she quickly stomped it out. When Piper caught wind of it, he reached out to Rhonda to give her the official seal of approval to use the nickname and after the two met up she proudly took it on. Of course she did! Who wouldn’t use a nickname handed down to you from one of the greats?
9) Fangirl
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Most people like to take a break from work in their downtime and choose hobbies outside of their career. But not Rhonda. When she’s not in the ring or training for her next fight, she’s cheering on her idol in the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). She loves watching sports and other forms of competitive fighting, but she’s a major fangirl for wrestling with a particular fondness for CM Punk who she publically cheers on. Who knows, maybe Cm Punk will make Rhonda’s fangirl dreams come true? Wouldn’t that be a match made in heaven?
10) An Artist
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Wow, bet you didn’t see that one coming. Yep, Rhonda Rousey enjoys art. And not just looking at it, either. She’s an avid sketcher, and loves to draw ocean life. Her sister, Maria, claims that Rhonda can draw a mean Orca whale and if she never got into sports she probably would have went to school for an Art degree. Funny how someone so rough and tough can posses the ability to do something so delicate and soft as art. It would be nice to see her put those drawing skills to use and take on a side project, wouldn’t you buy a Rhonda Rousey original?
11) Video Game Creator
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Not only does Rhonda love playing video games but she also loves making them. She recently branched off into voice over work for a few major games, some of which are for her actual character, but she’s now into creating her own games. She’s a storyline consultant for 7 Generation Games and helps to design educational programs. A big difference from her game of choice; World of Warcraft, but Rhonda loves working with 7 Generation. (That’s’ right. Rhonda plays WOW. Go, fanboys, run. Find her online)
12) Dates Bobs
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Yeah, this a quirky one. Rhonda must have a poor dating record because her mother has resorted to labelling all of Rhonda’s prospects “Bob”. She tells people that there’s no point in learning their names, they won’t be around for long, they never are. Wow. Either Rhonda is super picky or something must drive the guys away. Maybe it’s her stellar armbar skills or threatening facial expressions. Regardless, her mother promised that when the right guy comes along and makes an honest woman out of her daughter she’ll swear to call them by their real name. Wouldn’t it be funny if Rhonda ended up marrying someone named Bob?
13) Quick to Draw
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Like an old western, a Rhonda Rousey fight is over before you can even blink. She’s widely known for winning against her opponents during the first round. In fact, 9 of the 12 fights she’s competed in were won within the first few seconds of the first round. Wowza. Don’t mess with Rhonda. The only fight she ever faced and didn’t come out winning in the first round was with opponent Miesha Tate. The fight went as far as the third round, with Tate putting up a good fight, but Rhonda still won. Duh.
14) Worked at a Gym
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After her success with the Olympics and winning the title of the first female to win in the Judo category, you’d think that Rhonda would have went on to bigger and better things. But that’s not quite how it happened. Rhonda left the Olympics to pursue something else but she wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do with her life. Competitive sports were definitely on the table but she was unsure. So, for the time being, while she figured things out, Rhonda went to work at 24 Hour Fitness, a local gym in her area. That’s where she learned how to bulk up and it put her on the track to UFC fighting. Sometimes we have to go back in order to move forward, and Rhonda found no shame in that.
15) Pokémon Master
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Yep, fan boys from all over can now stake their claim in the Rhonda Rousey mountain. Rhonda’s a self proclaimed gamer and a Pokémon fanatic. She loves to play video games and does so in most of her spare time. She prefers PVP shooting and fighting games but is also akin to racing games. But she admits to being a huge World of Warcraft player and claims that she’s found herself addicted to it at times. In terms of Pokémon, she watched the TV show as a kid and grew up collecting cards. She’s “obsessed”, her sister states. And just like everything else in life, Rhonda prefers he best, so her favorite Pokémon is Mew.
If this compilation of awesome Rhonda Rousey facts doesn’t make you love her even more than you already do, then there’s no hope for you after all. Rousey is a pro athlete who works for everything she’s accomplished. She deserves all the success coming to her, in sports as well as movies. She’s an advocate for positive body image in both girls and boys and makes an excellent role model for just about anyone. Work hard, train hard, and don’t let haters get in your way. We hope to see more of her soon and wonder what to expect in terms of the Rhonda Rousey next fight!