Ronda Rousey prepares for her fight against Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. Credit: Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Ronda Rousey was convinced to try MMA by male training partners who said she would ‘kill the girls’

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Harvey Leonard | Last updated Oct 31, 2025 9:41 PM ET

Ronda Rousey once thought a career in the cage was “unrealistic.”

The former bantamweight champion is a pioneer in mixed martial arts, having competed in the very first female fight in UFC history over 12 years ago.

After her reign as Strikeforce champion, ‘Rowdy’ was promoted to UFC titleholder when her stint in MMA’s leading promotion got underway.

Rousey defeated Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 to defend the 135-pound title for the first time, a result that marked the first of six straight finishes and successful title retentions. That cemented the ex-judoka as an all-time great and earned her a spot on Dana White’s MMA Mount Rushmore.

But Rousey’s career might not have played out that way after her Olympic success in 2008 if it wasn’t for some encouraging words from her teammates.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Ronda Rousey revealed what pushed her into MMA after Olympic success

Ronda Rousey won a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympic Games. Prior to that, she had contemplated a future in MMA but deemed it an “unrealistic” goal.

That all changed while the Californian kept busy in the gym after the Olympics with grappling training. While she was unsure what the future held for her, encouragement from male training partners who insisted she would dominate the field in MMA pushed Rousey to the cage.

“I was thinking of doing it before the last Olympics and when I was doing judo, but I wouldn’t say anything about it,” Rousey told UFC.com during fight week for her Octagon debut in February 2013.

“I thought it was an unrealistic thing to hope for. And then after I quit judo, I kinda realized that I really didn’t have that many options. And I was grappling just to keep in shape with some of the guys I trained with before, and they would always say, ‘Oh man, you would kill these girls.’

“I just started entering into my head again as a real possibility,” she continued. “I said, ‘Why don’t I give this a try? If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just go join the Coast Guard.'”

Ronda Rousey’s brutal assessment of Joe Rogan as an MMA ‘expert’

It is safe to say that Rousey is not Joe Rogan’s biggest fan.

The former bantamweight queen returned to the headlines recently after taking aim at the likes of Rogan and Khabib Nurmagomedov during an interview on Bert Kreischer’s YouTube podcast.

In regard to the veteran color commentator, ‘Rowdy’ appeared to share the sentiment of those hoping to see him replaced cageside soon enough by insisting Rogan is far from being an “expert” in MMA.

“He’s not an expert. He’s a fan with an audience. He never fought,” Rousey said.

“He never fought, that’s not fighting,” she added with a laugh after Kreischer mentioned Rogan’s taekwondo career.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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