Ronda Rousey Won Her UFC Debut in Grand, Arm-Twisting Fashion

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Ronda Rousey, Olympic judoka and holder of sundry MMA titles, won the Ultimate Hugging Fighting Championship’s first-ever women’s bout Saturday night, defeating an unfortunately overshadowed Liz Carmouche to secure the bantamweight title.

Even if you frown upon MMA as brutal bloodsport that nobody really wins so much as survives, we can all appreciate Rousey’s primetime Saturday night victory as both an individual triumph of all-around badassery, and a move towards gender equality in a sport whose fanbase contains some of the broiest bros in all of brodom. According to the AP, a sellout crowd (which mostly wanted to see the much-hyped Rousey dominate her opponent) watched Rousey use her patented armbar on Carmouche with 11 seconds left in the first round, although Carmouche (the UFC’s first openly gay fighter) had Rousey in trouble early.

No matter. Rousey (now 7-0) is the female fighter that UFC president and anthropomorphized nurse shark Dana White has chosen as the face of the the UFC’s women’s bouts, and for good reason — she is a terrifying fighter AND boasts a great nickname. It shouldn’t be long before we see “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey starring in a They Live! remake, with an aged but undaunted Keith David as Wise-Cracking Sidekick.

Ronda Rousey wins historic women’s UFC debut [AP]

 
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