Exclusive Interview with the MMA Champ
The days of masculinity dominating women’s MMA are a thing of the past. With top fighters sporting pretty faces and long flowing hair, women’s MMA is gaining popularity— guys can’t help but look and women want to be just as tough.
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Last weekend Ronda Rousey became the first female to ever win an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout, against Liz Carmouche, with her signature armbar submission move. A tough opponent, Ronda made her pro debut in March 2011. She’s now had a total of seven wins from armbar submission, according to media reports.
The armbar submission, as Ronda explains it to a newbie: “Well, my back can bend backwards farther than your elbow can. So if I hold onto your elbow and arch my back as far back as I can, your elbow has no choice but to dislocate. It’s just physics and anatomy.”
From Judo to MMA
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Ronda’s sweet looks and long blonde hair mask her drive and focus well. She’s not a soft girl who’s going to let someone walk all over her; she’s an outspoken, driven athlete who is determined to reach her goals. Born in Riverside CA, Ronda wasn’t always into fighting. “My first sport was swimming, which I started when I was 6.” But that didn’t last. Before long, Ronda was burnt out on swimming and began doing judo right before her 11th birthday. “Six years later, I made my first Olympic team, and in the four years following I won a silver medal in the world championships, as well as a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics.”
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Making it to the pro level takes strength, stamina, motivation and drive, and requires a huge commitment regardless of your sport. “It takes years of forced motivation,” says Ronda. “It’s easy to want to be the best in the world for one day, even for a week… but to sustain that drive is extremely difficult. All it takes is the ability to make yourself get up and go train, even when you have every reason and excuse in the world not to.” Ronda’s advice can be applied anywhere, including your very own fitness program. To reach your goals you’ve got to put in the hard work required to get there. Otherwise you will get left behind.
Stepping Into the Ring
Remember back to your first time riding a bike. Remember how nervous you were and how afraid you were, thinking you were going to fall? Anything you do in life requires a “first time,” and the first time “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey stepped in the ring was more like an out-of-body experience than anything else. “My first amateur fight was in a small event, but it felt like being in a movie. I felt like I was witnessing the moment instead of experiencing it. I don’t even remember the fight itself. It was like I was only on ‘play’ and not ‘recording.’ That’s what I really love about fighting— there is only the present moment, and nothing else.”
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After winning all of her pro fights with an armbar submission, it makes you wonder if Ronda’s history in the ring is intimidating to her future opponents. “I never try to end a fight a certain way on purpose,” says Ronda. “We plan the first exchange and after that I make every decision on the spot. Fights are chaotic, and you can’t plan for chaos, you can only be prepared to deal with all the likely situations that might present themselves. It’s the ability to improvise that I think sets me apart from all the other girls.” Watch any of her previous fights or even go check out her fight history and your mind will no doubt play games on you if you’re up for a fight against Ronda. “I try to instill a feeling of futility in all my opponents. They all know what’s coming; they know that I know that they know. And they know that everyone else I fought knew too, but there is nothing they could do to stop me.”
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When we asked Ronda what advice she has for other women interested in trying MMA or a similar sport, she had this to say: “Just do it! Who cares if you’re the only girl, who cares if trying something new makes you feel like an idiot. If you want to try something, don’t you dare let anyone else have the power to discourage you. Everyone feels awkward and out of place at first; it’s having the ability to push through that time of discomfort and uncertainty in the beginning that is a real skill you’ll use in every facet of your life.”
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How do you prepare yourself emotionally for a fight?
“I always get my most nervous, anxious and emotional exactly two weeks before a fight. I call it two-week-itis. Then I need some sort of chaos before the fight, a freak injury, losing my passport, my shorts don’t get delivered in time, whatever. If things go too smoothly, I start to get nervous, since fights are chaotic. I need some warm-up chaos beforehand.”
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How do you prepare yourself physically for a fight?
“The week before a fight, I train as little as possible and just monitor my weight. Two weeks before a fight, I’m still training but not as hard. Three weeks before a fight is my last week of hard training. It’s part of the peaking process to make sure I’m 100 percent on the day of the fight.”
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What is a typical training day schedule?
“I have 2-3 workouts a day, they could be anything from striking, to grappling, wrestling, judo, Brazillian jui-jitsu, strength and conditioning or swimming. The cool thing about my training schedule is every day is different, and every week is a little different, too. We try to keep my muscles guessing and my mind entertained. There’s no point in training if you’re not having fun. The trick is to make it an enjoyable experience, and then motivation is easy to come by.”
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Ronda’s Diet:
“I usually have a high-carb breakfast (like oatmeal), a half carb/half protein lunch, and then an all-protein dinner. I can have little snacks throughout the day, like frozen grapes, almonds with agave nectar or trail mix. And I never eat within three hours of going to bed.”
Ronda’s Supplement Performance Stack:
• Anavite Performance Enhancing Multi-Vitamin
• SuperPump Max pre-workout product for increased performance and recovery
• MyoFusion Probiotic Series is a revolutionary protein formulation with probiotic to help support digestive and immune health
What do you do in your downtime or to have fun?
“I do anything that doesn’t require much movement, since I’m so beat up all the time, whenever I’m home all I want to do is lie down. So I read, play video games, go on Twitter, and make fractals (yes, fractals— they are complex computer generated images, or designs, of amazing form, detail, color and light. They are created using mathematical formulas, and are infinite in their ability to be viewed in ever increasing detail). And I love hanging out and watching movies with my roommates who don’t know anything about fighting and don’t really care to know about it. It’s just nice to escape and be normal at home.”
Fun Facts
1. Your nickname: Rowdy
2. Age: 26
3. What’s the best thing about women’s MMA? Feeling empowered and confident.
4. What’s the worst thing about women’s MMA? Getting beat up.
5. What’s one item you can’t live without in your gym bag and why? My mouth guard. I like my teeth.
6. Your favorite move in the ring and why? Armbars, because they work.
7. If you could get in the ring with anyone in the world, who would it be and why? Kim Kardashian. I think she’s a horrible role model for my little sister.
8. Who’s your celebrity crush and why? Paul Newman in his prime. He wasn’t just hot— he was classy.
9. What type of training or sport would you do if you weren’t a fighter and why? Surfing. I used to surf all the time, but training is so hard, I just don’t have the energy anymore
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