With her professional wrestling debut just around the corner, Ronda Rousey is pulling no punches. Literally. In fact, there’s a video proving that she isn’t.
The former UFC fighter has received some flak for her move to the world of sports entertainment, with some critics seeing it as a cop out.
But judging by this video released officially by WWE, Rousey is working just – if not twice – as hard as she was in the Octagon.
Wrestling may be scripted, but the hits, the stamina and physical toll are real. You can see it in Rousey’s face as she takes a fan through a four-hour training session.
Watch the clip here:
In the video, Rousey can be seen performing in and outside the ring, dabbling in everything from judo to bag-work to strength conditioning.
Once considered one of the most dangerous women in MMA, Rousey is now fully committed to wrestling.
Rousey appeared to a roaring crowd of fans after the women’s Royal Rumble in Philadelphia, and pointed to a WrestleMania sign — scheduled for New Orleans on April 8.
Rousey said:
This is my life now. Yeah, they have first priority on my time for the next several years.
This is not a smash and grab, this is not a publicity stunt.
When I first met with Triple H, I told him, ‘There are other things I can do with my time that’ll make way more money, but I won’t enjoy nearly as much.’
The 30-year-old Californian was the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in judo and won 12 consecutive MMA fights, six in the UFC.
Her appearance at the Royal Rumble came as a shock to many who doubted her sincerity. She had previously ruled it out in an interview and posted an Instagram video of her at the Rumble weekend in Colombia enjoying a night out with the crew filming her latest movie Mile 22 with Mark Wahlberg and John Malkovich.
Rousey has been having regular meetings with WWE executive Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, to discuss her interest in the deal.
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The public hadn’t seen Rousey fight since she suffered a 48-second loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 in December 2016.
Ronda Rousey lost two straight bouts in 13 months and took a break to extend her entertainment credits, including some time as team coach in the reboot of ‘Battle of the Network Stars’.
The MMA star would not commit to saying she’s retired from UFC when she was asked directly by ESPN.
She said:
That’s what everybody else seems to say — I mean, I never retired from judo. So that’s what you guys want to think.
All I know is I really want to devote 100 per cent of my time to wrestling right now and whatever people want to call that they can call it.
UFC President Dana White said Rousey will never fight again for the company, and Rousey said she hasn’t followed MMA in the past year.
Rousey adopted the ‘Rowdy’ nickname from the late WWE Hall of Famer ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper.
Rousey famously stood with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as they fought off the villainous Triple H and McMahon in a segment at WrestleMania in 2015.
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