“When I have to deal with media that hasn’t covered MMA before, there’s a lot of new interest in the sport now because of the first women’s fight,” she said. “And in those instances, I feel like I’m really representing the sport. I know they try to get me to say things like, ‘I like hurting people,’ and things that are stereotypical ideas of what MMA is, and I try very much to steer the conversation away from that and try to explain how beautiful a sport this is. It’s not some barbaric spectacle, it really is an art, and that’s why the word ‘art’ is in it.
“So a lot of progress has been made, but there’s still a lot of progress left to make,” Rousey continues. “I know that we don’t live in a Utopian society where everyone is treated equally. People are a lot more tolerant than they used to be, but they’re not as tolerant as they should be. And so I’m not surprised that we still have progress to make, but it gives me goals to get after.”
By the time Rousey had her last fight against Amanda Nunes in late-2016, she did more than win fights. She changed sports. Notice the plural, as Rousey didn’t just change mixed martial arts, but boxing, as well, as her success and visibility in the UFC had boxing promoters seeking out the top female talent in the ring to put on the big stage.
“He (White) put Ronda Rousey out there on a regular basis on the UFC pay-per-view cards, so she’s been able to build up a following,” said Boxing Hall of Famer Christy Martin. “In order to have a female fighter in boxing do that, we’re just gonna have to get a promoter that’s willing to bite the bullet and say ‘Hey, I’m gonna stand by this woman fighter.’”
Today, some of the biggest fights being made in boxing are featuring the ladies, from Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano to Alycia Baumgardner-Mikaela Mayer and Claressa Shields-Savannah Marshall. It’s proof positive that when a female fight is atop the bill, whether in MMA or boxing, more often than not, fireworks follow, and that’s what fight fans want to see.
Ten years. What a decade it’s been.