Ronda Rousey - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ronda Rousey (born February 1, 1987 in Riverside County, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

) is an American

People of the United States

The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...

judoka and mixed martial artist

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

. She formerly trained at the Olympic Training Center in Wakefield

Wakefield

Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

under guidance of Jimmy Pedro

Jimmy Pedro

James A. Pedro is one of the most successful American judo competitors ever, having even won two bronze medals in the Olympics.Pedro was the World Champion at 73 kg in 1998...

and is now part of Team Hayastan in Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...

.

Rousey trains under Gokor Chivichyan

Gokor Chivichyan

Gokor Chivichyan is an Armenian Judo, submission grappling, and mixed martial arts instructor. Gokor currently trains professional and amateur fighters at the Hayastan MMA Academy in North Hollywood. Chivichyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia....

, Leo Frincu and Gene Lebell

Gene LeBell

Ivan Gene LeBell is a former American Judo champion, instructor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, and professional wrestler born in Los Angeles, California. LeBell has worked on over 1,000 films and TV shows, and has authored a number of books.In 2000, he was promoted to 9th Dan in US Ju-Jitsu...

, along with Team Hayastan fighters such as Manny Gamburyan, Karen Darabedyan

Karen Darabedyan

Karen Darabedyan is an Armenian professional mixed martial artist. He is more notable for fighting in WEC's lightweight division. He is a training partner of Karo Parisyan and Manvel Gamburyan...

, Sako Chivitchian

Sako Chivitchian

Sako Chivitchian is an Armenian-born mixed martial arts fighter who competes in the lightweight division. He immigrated to the United States of America and is presently based in Los Angeles...

and Sevak Magakian.

Rousey is currently the #9-ranked 145-pound female MMA fighter in the world according to the Unified Women's MMA Rankings.

Olympic judo career

At just 17, Rousey qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, becoming the youngest judo player in the entire Games.

Also in 2004, Rousey won a gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Judo Championships in Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

, Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

.

In April 2006, she became the first U.S. female athlete in nearly 10 years to win an A-Level tournament as she went 5-0 to claim gold at the Birmingham World Cup in Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

. Later that year, the 19-year-old won the bronze medal at the Junior World Championships, becoming the first U.S. athlete ever to win two Junior World medals.

In February 2007, Rousey moved up to 70kg where she is currently ranked as one of the top three women in the world. She won the silver medal at the 2007 World Judo Championships

2007 World Judo Championships

The 2007 World Judo Championships are the 25th edition of the Judo World Championships, and were held at the Rio Olympic Arena, usually called Arena Multiuso, that was built for the 2007 Pan-American Games, in Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from September 13 to September 16, 2007.The...

in the middleweight division and the bronze medal at the 2007 Pan Am Games.

In August 2008, Rousey competed at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. She lost her quarterfinal to the Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

ex-world champion Edith Bosch

Edith Bosch

Edith Bosch is a Dutch Judoka who won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the middleweight division....

but qualified for a Bronze medal match through the repechage

Repechage

Repechage is a practice amongst ladder competitions that allows participants that failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round.- Types of repechage :...

bracket. Rousey defeated Annett Boehm by Yuko

Yuko

-Judo:Yuko is a lower grade of score, and only counts as a tie-breaker; it is not cumulative with other yuko scores.-Possible writings:Yūko can be written using different kanji characters and can mean:*優子, "gentle, child"*裕子, "fertile, child"...

to win a bronze medal (note: Judo offers two bronze medals per weight class). With the victory, Rousey became the first American to win an Olympic medal in women's judo since its inception as an Olympic sport in 1992.

Mixed martial arts career

Rousey made her mixed martial arts debut as an amateur on August 6, 2010. She defeated Hayden Munoz by submission due to an armbar in 23 seconds.

She entered the quarterfinals of the Tuff-N-Uff 145 lbs women's tournament on November 12, 2010 and submitted promotional veteran Autumn Richardson with an armbar in 57 seconds.

Rousey faced Taylor Stratford in the Tuff-N-Uff tournament semi-finals on January 7, 2011 and won by technical submission due to an armbar in 24 seconds. She then announced plans to turn pro and was replaced in the tournament.

Rousey made her professional mixed martial arts debut on March 27, 2011 at King of the Cage: Turning Point. She submitted Ediane Gomes with an armbar in 25 seconds.

Rousey faced kickboxing champion Charmaine Tweet in an MMA bout at Hard Knocks Fighting Championship: School of Hard Knocks 12 on June 17, 2011 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

. She submitted Tweet with an armbar in 49 seconds.

Rousey was scheduled to make her Strikeforce

Strikeforce

Strikeforce is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California. It is headed by CEO Scott Coker and owned by Zuffa, LLC...

debut against Sarah D'Alelio on July 30, 2011 at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson

Strikeforce / M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Henderson was a mixed martial arts event held by Strikeforce. The event took place on July 30, 2011 at Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.-Background:...

in Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Hoffman Estates is a northwestern suburb of Chicago in Illinois. The village is located primarily in Cook County with a small section in Kane County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 49,495 and estimated to be 52,520 in 2003...

. The fight was pushed back and eventually took place on the Strikeforce Challengers 18 main card on August 12, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

. Rousey defeated D'Alelio by technical submission due to an armbar early in the first round. The victory was controversial as referee Steve Mazzagatti only stopped the fight because D’Alelio appeared to make a brief sound. According to instructions given to fighters before they compete, this is typically deemed to be a verbal submission. Mazzagatti initially did nothing, but after Rousey looked at him and stated that D’Alelio had submitted, he stopped the fight. D'Alelio admitted after the fight that she let out a verbal indication of pain.

Rousey faced Julia Budd at Strikeforce Challengers 20 on November 18, 2011 in Las Vegas. She won via submission due to an armbar in the first round. Following the fight, she announced plans to move down to 135 pounds to challenge for the title.

Personal life

Rousey is a vegan. Her mother, Ann Maria Rousey DeMars

Ann Maria Rousey DeMars

Ann Maria Rousey DeMars was born August 15, 1958, at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. She grew up in the small community of Alton, Illinois and began her judo career at the age of 12 at a local YMCA.-Competitive judo career:...

, also had a decorated Judo career and was the first American to win a World Judo Championship with her victory in 1984.

Professional record

|-
| Win
| align="center" | 4-0
|

Julia Budd
| Technical Submission (Armbar)
| Strikeforce Challengers: Britt vs. Sayers

Strikeforce Challengers: Britt vs. Sayers

Strikeforce Challengers: Britt vs. Sayers was a mixed martial arts event held by Strikeforce. The 20th Challengers episode took place on November 18, 2011 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...

|
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 0:39
|

Las Vegas, Nevada

|
|-
| Win
| align="center" | 3-0
|

Sarah D'Alelio
| Technical Submission (Armbar)
| Strikeforce Challengers: Gurgel vs. Duarte

Strikeforce Challengers: Gurgel vs. Duarte

Strikeforce Challengers: Gurgel vs. Duarte was a mixed martial arts event held by Strikeforce. The eighteenth Challengers episode took place on August 12, 2011 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...

|
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 0:25
|

Las Vegas, Nevada

|
|-
| Win
| align="center" | 2-0
|

Calgary, Alberta

Calgary

|
|-
| Win
| align="center" | 1-0
|

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

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Amateur record

|-
| Win
| align="center" | 3-0
|

Las Vegas, Nevada

|
|-
| Win
| align="center" | 2-0
|

Las Vegas, Nevada

|
|-
| Win
| align="center" | 1-0
|

Oxnard, California

Oxnard is the 113th largest city in the United States, 19th largest city in California and largest city in Ventura County, California, by way of population. It is located at the western edge of the fertile Oxnard Plain, and is an important agricultural center, with its distinction as the...

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External links

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