Snowman's Top 10 Martial Artists #8:Ronda Rousey

Photo courtesy of Bleacher Report

      If you had to ask who has the most Tyson esque mystique in combat sports right now you may here names like Silva, Jones, , Burroughs, or Ronda Rousey.  In my opinion I don't understand how there's even an argument as to who has the most Tyson esque ability to obliterate anybody put in front of them, not to menchain she's the only UFC or Strikeforce champion to never leave the 1st round.  Her accomplishments are by no means limited to being the biggest womens MMA star ever, she is also A 6 time senior national champion and an Olympic bronze medalist in Judo.

     Rousey sports one of the deepest resumes in martial arts today, and every time she competes she proves why.  She has won all 7 of her MMA bouts by armbar, and even more impressive she has won the Strikeforce and UFC womens bantamweight title in only these 7 fights.  In fact there probably would still be no women in the UFC if Rousey hadn't skyrocketed to superstardom under the Strikeforce banner.  She also brought Judo to the forefront of the MMA world, and really drives the point home by using almost nothing else except Judo in her fights.  Rousey's MMA fights typically start with her rushing in and securing the clinch, she then tosses her opponent to the ground showing uncanny core strength and flexibility, then holds in either side control or scarfhold before finishing with a brutal Judo style armbar.  The scariest part is that none of her fights have really strayed from this formula, everybody knows what's coming, but nobody has found a way to stop it.

     In Judo Rousey holds a long list of firsts for competitors from the US.  To put it in basic terms, this means she's probably the best Judoka our country has ever seen.  She won the world cup 6 times, won a junior world championship in 2004, and won a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympic Games.  She is such an impressive Judoka that Judo legend Gene LeBell took a personal interest in her, and he now trains and corners Rousey for her MMA bouts.

     Rousey recently announced that she may only fight for 2 more years, but even if that is to be the case she has clearly cemented her legacy as one of the greatest martial artists of all time, one of the greatest Judoka of all time, one of the greatest MMA champions of all time, and the most prominent female figure in modern martial arts.  this winter will see her star on the Ultimate Fighter, work with Hollywood in the Fast and Furious and Expendables movie series, and fight against former Strikeforce champion and longtime rival Miesha Tate in the most anticipated fight in the history of women's MMA.



     For those of you who enjoyed our first product review I will be writing another very soon.  This time it will be for the Venum Challenger 2.0 Boxing Gloves, once I get a chance to test them out I'll post my review.