Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey is an American combat sports star who became famous first in judo, then in MMA, and later in WWE. She made the 2008 U.S. Olympic team in judo and won a bronze medal in the women’s 70 kg division at the Beijing Games, which put her on the map long before most fans ever saw her in a ring.

After judo, Rousey moved into mixed martial arts and quickly became known for ending fights with submissions, especially armbars. In 2012, she won the Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Championship by submitting Miesha Tate, and later that year, the UFC named her its first UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion.

She defended the title in the UFC and became one of the biggest draws in the sport before her MMA run ended after late-career losses, and she later said concussion issues played a role in stepping away. Rousey was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018.

Rousey’s move to WWE became official at Royal Rumble 2018, and she jumped right into major storylines. At WrestleMania 34, she teamed up with Kurt Angle to face Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a mixed tag team match, which helped show what her style would look like in pro wrestling, with throws, quick bursts, and a heavy focus on submissions.

In August 2018, she beat Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam to win the WWE Raw Women’s Championship, and she held the title through a run of big defenses before her first WWE stretch ended after she lost in the WrestleMania 35 main event triple threat with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.

She returned to WWE in 2022, challenged Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 38, and then won the SmackDown Women’s Championship in an “I Quit” match at WrestleMania Backlash in May 2022.

In 2023, she teamed with Shayna Baszler to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, but their partnership broke down, and her last WWE match was an MMA Rules bout against Baszler at SummerSlam 2023.

In the ring, Rousey’s offense stayed true to her background: hard judo throws like Piper’s Pit, tight submissions like her devastating armbar in the UFC, and a pace that made her matches look like a real fight when she was in control. Known for her athletic dominance and “Rowdy” persona honoring Roddy Piper, Rousey helped elevate women’s wrestling visibility.