Ronda Rousey

Ronda Jean Rousey is an American public figure best known for her accomplishments in mixed martial arts, professional wrestling, and judo. She gained widespread prominence as a landmark competitor in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Before transitioning to mixed martial arts and professional wrestling, she became the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in judo by winning a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Games.

Born on February 1, 1987, in Riverside, California, Rousey was raised by her mother, decorated judoka AnnMaria De Mars, and her father, Ronald John Rousey. Her heritage includes English, Polish, Venezuelan, Trinidadian, and Canadian ancestry. During early childhood, Rousey experienced a neurological speech disorder known as apraxia, prompting her family to relocate to Jamestown, North Dakota, for intensive speech therapy. When she was eight years old, her father died by suicide following a back injury. Rousey later dropped out of high school and subsequently earned her GED.

Rousey began training in judo at age 11 under her mother's instruction. At age 17, she qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and earned a gold medal at the World Judo Juniors Championships that same year. She later claimed a bronze medal at the 2006 Junior World Championships, gold at the 2007 Pan American Games, and silver at the 2007 World Judo Championships. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she secured a bronze medal in the 70 kg category. She retired from judo at age 21 with a overall record of 56 wins and 19 losses.

After working multiple jobs in California, Rousey transitioned to mixed martial arts, achieving a 3–0 amateur record before making her professional debut in 2011. She signed with Strikeforce later that year, where she defeated Miesha Tate in 2012 to capture the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Championship. Following a title defense against Sarah Kaufman, Rousey became the first female fighter signed by the UFC and was named its inaugural Women's Bantamweight Champion.

Rousey made her promotional debut at UFC 157, defeating Liz Carmouche in the organization's first women's bout. She defended her championship six consecutive times, including victories against Tate and Sara McMann, establishing a record for female UFC title defenses that stood until 2022. Rousey retired from mixed martial arts in 2016 and, in 2018, became the first woman inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

In 2018, Rousey joined WWE and made her debut at WrestleMania 34. She won the Raw Women's Championship at SummerSlam that year and headlined Evolution, the company's first all-women's pay-per-view event, as well as WrestleMania 35. Returning in 2022, she won the women's Royal Rumble, captured the SmackDown Women's Championship twice, and earned the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship alongside Shayna Baszler to become WWE's eighth Women's Triple Crown Champion. She left WWE in October 2023 to perform on the independent wrestling circuit.

Rousey is the only woman to hold world championships and headline pay-per-view events in both the UFC and WWE. Beyond combat sports, she has acted in films such as The Expendables 3, Furious 7, and Mile 22, and authored her 2015 autobiography, My Fight / Your Fight. She was voted the best female athlete of all time in a 2015 ESPN fan poll and described by Fox Sports as a defining athlete of the 21st century.