The inspiring story of Rhonda “Rowdy” Rouser

Nothing is typical about the twenty-eight-year-old, five-foot-seven-inch-tall powerhouse who weighs one hundred and thirty-five pounds and has taken the MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) world by storm. Rhonda Jean “Rowdy” Rouser became the first woman to sign with the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) in November 2012. In total, she has had eleven wins and no losses since becoming a fighter. Some credit his fighting style and arm barbell movement, while others point to a life built around never giving up on his circumstances. I say it is both and I am inspired by this woman who never gives up or lets life drag her down.

Born in Riverside County, California and raised with her two older sisters and a younger sister in Jamestown, North Dakota, life was not easy for Rhonda from the beginning. He had a speech problem that did not allow him to speak properly until he was four years old. Her father committed suicide when she was only eight years old. The two of them had been close. Ron took her out for walks regularly and even bought Rhonda her first doll, which turned out to be a Hulk Hogan Wrestling Buddy. She always loved watching Professional Wrestling and was a huge “Rowdy” Roddy Piper fan. When she began her career in MMA, Rhonda requested and received permission from Piper to use the nickname “Rowdy” in her name. In 2015 he left the audience during Wrestlemania and helped The Rock get Stephanie McMahon and Triple H out of the ring. Whether orchestrated or not, it was a great moment for her and her fans.

Ron’s suicide was unexpected, but it was probably due to a back injury that caused him to live in chronic pain. Shortly after that horrible event, Rhonda Rousey made an astonishing discovery. While searching through some family albums, she discovered a scrapbook that revealed that her mother, AnnMaria De Mars, had been a judo champion with a sixth grade black belt. In 1984, AnnMaria was the first American to hold a world judo championship. Rhonda’s mother later became her coach when Rhonda decided to train and eventually compete. The training process was painful. Rousey suffered injuries to her toes and elbow. She was even bitten by a dog while running just a few days before a competition.

Rhonda made the difficult decision to drop out of school at the age of sixteen and walk away from her family to train in Boston to compete in the 2004 Olympics. During that time she struggled to lose weight and began purging to lose weight. Unable to reach her weight class, she returned home depressed and immediately faced another challenge. Her mother, who may have felt that moving to Boston was a mistake in the first place, would not allow her to live at home without a job. A once quite close relationship between the two had become very strained. Things got worse when Rousey competed in the 2008 Olympics and managed to win a bronze medal. Her mother insisted on the kind of discipline that Rhonda described as “suffocating” and may have felt that Rousey had not fully committed to a proper training routine.

Rousey rebelled by taking her $ 10,000 prize from the Olympics and moving to Los Angeles. She took a job as a waitress and started having as much fun as she could. At the age of twenty-one, the once self-disciplined athlete began smoking cigarettes and abusing alcohol. He also started smoking marijuana and using a prescription pain reliever to get through every day. Rhonda slept in her car until she found a small studio apartment with bad plumbing. His toilet used to regularly backflush leaving the place smelling the way you would expect given that situation. She also found a drug addict ex-boyfriend whom she dumped shortly after he turned to heroin and stole a car. All of this continued for about a year.

Rousey eventually found better digs in the form of a house near the beach. A friend told her (in less than polite language) that she was spoiled because she was wasting her looks and talents on a destructive lifestyle and poor boyfriend choices. Inspired by the criticism and ready for a change, Rhonda decided to pursue a career in Mixed Martial Arts and had her first amateur match in 2010. She used what has become her signature arm bar move to defeat Hayden Muñoz in just twenty-three seconds. . At that moment a legend was born. A series of quick wins followed and “Rowdy” won his first professional fight in 2011 defeating Ediane Gomes with that same barbell movement in twenty-five seconds.

Rousey soon found a powerful ally in the form of a man who once said he would never allow women to compete in the UFC. Dana White is a man who recognizes talent and that is exactly what happened when he saw Rhonda’s rise in the world of professional MMA. In 2012, White went out of her own way and called Rousey to explain her plan to establish a UFC Women’s Division and build it around it. Rousey was excited and quickly accepted his offer. That changed his life in many ways, including the difference between making just four hundred dollars every time he fought for his current paycheck, which has skyrocketed to a million dollars a game. He has also started modeling and appears in Fast and Furious 7 with Vin Diesel.

“Rowdy” Rhonda Rousey is a hero to me and she should be to everyone who thinks they’ve hit rock bottom with no way up. She shows that no matter where you come from or where you are, there is always a way out if you have the determination and the will of your own to overcome your circumstances. If you really want to get inspired, read her book, My Fight / Your Fight, now available everywhere, and watch her last battle on August 1, 2015 against Bethe Correia. The two have become bitter rivals thanks to Bethe’s comments hinting that Rousey might kill herself like her father did if she loses. Good luck Rhonda!