En noviembre de 2012, se anunció que Rousey se había convertido en la primera peleadora en firmar con el
UFC.
28
29
El presidente de UFC,
Dana White, anunció oficialmente en el evento
UFC on Fox 5 en la rueda de prensa antes de la pelea que Rousey sería la primera campeona de peso gallo de mujeres en UFC.
El 28 de mayo, Zingano anunció que no iba a ser la oponente de Ronda por una lesión en la rodilla. Por lo tanto Miesha Tate seria quien luchase contra Ronda en The Ultimate Fighter 18.
30
Ronda se enfrentó a Miesha el 28 de diciembre de 2013 en
UFC 168. Ambas luchadoras ya se habían enfrentado antes, ganando Ronda por armbar en el primer asalto. En esta ocasión, Miesha venia mucho mejor preparada para la lucha cuerpo a cuerpo y en una pelea realmente épica, logró esquivar las llaves de brazo de su adversaria, atrapándola incluso durante el cuerpo a cuerpo con una llave de tijera al cuello. Finalmente, Rousey ganó la pelea por sumisión en el tercer asalto, manteniendo así su título de campeona. Tras el evento, Rousey obtuvo el premio a la
Sumisión de la Noche y ambas peleadoras ganaron el premio a la
Pelea de la Noche.
Rousey se enfrentó a la medallista olímpica e invicta
Sara McMann el 22 de febrero de 2014 en
UFC 170.
31 Rousey ganó la pelea por nocaut técnico en la primera ronda. Tras el evento, Rousey ganó el premio a la
Actuación de la Noche.
Rousey se enfrentó a
Alexis Davis el 5 de julio de 2014 en
UFC 175.
32 Rousey ganó la pelea por nocaut a los 16 segundos.
La UFC anunció que la campeona Ronda Rousey se enfrentaría a
Cat Zingano en el
UFC 184 en el combate coprincipal, pasando a ser combate principal tras la lesión de Chris Weidman.
33 El evento del UFC 184 fue primero en tener como combate coprincipal y principal luchas de mujeres únicamente.
34 Rousey ganó la pelea por sumisión en 14 segundos, defendiendo está manera el campeonato por 5.ª vez y ganando su tercer premio a la
Actuación de la Noche.
El 1 de agosto de 2015, Rousey se enfrentó a
Bethe Correia en
UFC 190. Rousey ganó la pelea en 34 segundos, ganando así el premio a la
Actuación de la Noche. Le dedicó el triunfo al ex-luchador de la
WWE "Rowdy"
Roddy Piper, quién falleció el día anterior a la pelea.
35
El 15 de noviembre de 2015, Rousey se enfrentó a
Holly Holm en
UFC 193. Rousey perdió la pelea por nocaut en la segunda ronda, perdiendo así el invicto y el campeonato.
36 Tras el evento, ambas peleadoras ganaron el premio a la
Pelea de la Noche.
El 30 de diciembre de 2016, Rousey se enfrentó a
Amanda Nunes en
UFC 207. Rousey perdió la pelea por TKO a los 48 segundos del primer asalto, cuando el referee debió detener la pelea ante la apabullante diferencia de potencia y calidad entre ambas peleadoras (Rousey apenas lanzó 12 golpes de los cuales apenas conectó 7 débiles, mientras que Nunes lanzó 43 y conectó 27, siendo 23 directos a la cara, y la mayoria golpes de potencia).
37
| Oponente | Método |
|---|
| Derrota | 12–2 |  Amanda Nunes | TKO (golpes) | UFC 207 | 30 de diciembre de 2016 | 1 | 0:48 |  Las Vegas, Nevada | Por el Campeonato de Peso Gallo de Mujeres de UFC. |
| Derrota | 12–1 | Holly Holm | KO (patada a la cabeza y golpes) | UFC 193 | 15 de noviembrede 2015 | 2 | 0:59 |  Melbourne | Perdió el Campeonato de Peso Gallo de Mujeres de UFC; Pelea de la Noche. |
| Victoria | 12–0 | Bethe Correia | KO (golpe) | UFC 190 | 1 de agostode 2015 | 1 | 0:34 | Río de Janeiro | Defendió el Campeonato de Peso Gallo de Mujeres de UFC; Actuación de la Noche. |
| Victoria | 11–0 | Cat Zingano | Sumisión (armlock) | UFC 184 | 28 de febrero de 2015 | 1 | 0:14 | Los Ángeles, California | Defendió el Campeonato de Peso Gallo de Mujeres de UFC; Actuación de la Noche. |
| Victoria | 10–0 |  Alexis Davis | KO (golpes) | UFC 175 | 5 de julio de 2014 | 1 | 0:16 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Defendió el Campeonato de Peso Gallo de Mujeres de UFC; Actuación de la Noche. |
| Victoria | 9–0 | Sara McMann | TKO (rodillazo al cuerpo) | UFC 170 | 22 de febrero de 2014 | 1 | 1:06 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Defendió el Campeonato de Peso Gallo de Mujeres de UFC; Actuación de la Noche. |
| Victoria | 8–0 | Miesha Tate | Sumisión (armbar) | UFC 168 | 28 de diciembre de 2013 | 3 | 0:58 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Defendió el Campeonato de Peso Gallo de Mujeres de UFC; Pelea de la Noche; Sumisión de la Noche. |
| Victoria | 7–0 | Liz Carmouche | Sumisión (armbar) | UFC 157 | 23 de febrero de 2013 | 1 | 4:49 | Anaheim, California | Defendió el Campeonato de Peso Gallo de Mujeres de UFC; Primera pelea de mujeres en la historia de UFC. |
| Victoria | 6–0 | Sarah Kaufman | Sumisión (armbar) | Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman | 18 de agostode 2012 | 1 | 0:54 | San Diego, California | Defendió el Campeonato de Peso Gallo Femenino de Strikeforce. |
| Victoria | 5–0 | Miesha Tate | Sumisión (armbar) | Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey | 3 de marzode 2012 | 1 | 4:27 | Columbus, Ohio | Ganó el Campeonato de Peso Gallo Femenino de Strikeforce; Debut en Peso Gallo; Sumisión del Año (2012). |
| Victoria | 4–0 | Julia Budd | Sumisión (armbar) | Strikeforce Challengers 20 | 18 de noviembrede 2011 | 1 | 0:39 | Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Victoria | 3–0 | Sarah D'Alelio | Sumisión (armbar) | Strikeforce Challengers 18 | 12 de agostode 2011 | 1 | 0:25 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Strikeforce debut. |
| Victoria | 2–0 | Charmaine Tweet | Sumisión (armbar) | HKFC: School of Hard Knocks 12 | 17 de juniode 2011 | 1 | 0:49 | Calgary | |
| Victoria | 1–0 | Ediene Gomes | Sumisión (armbar) | KOTC: Turning Point | 27 de marzode 2011 | 1 | 0:25 | Tarzana, California | |
LAS VEGAS --
Ronda Rousey was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on Thursday, becoming the first female inductee in the company's history.
Rousey was the UFC's first women's champion, holding the bantamweight belt from 2012 to 2015 and defending it six times.
She won her first 12 professional mixed martial arts fights, including six in the UFC, all by submission, with 11 of the 12 fights ending in the first round. All but three of those fights were decided in under one minute, and Rousey owns records for four of the five fastest finishes in UFC women's bantamweight history.
"I am not the first person who had the ability to do this, but I am here because I am the first person you took the time to watch," Rousey told the crowd at the Pearl Theatre during her induction speech. "That you put the energy into supporting. Because of you, I am the first woman standing up here accepting this incredible honor. May I be the first of many."
Rousey was the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo when she claimed bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, before transitioning into a career in mixed martial arts. She originally made a name for herself in the discipline as the last Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion before the company was bought by UFC in 2011.
In 2011, UFC president Dana White said that women would never fight in the UFC. Two years later, Rousey, the first female fighter ever signed to the UFC, took part in the first UFC women's fight when she defeated
Liz Carmouche at UFC 157.
"In my almost 18 years as UFC president, I've learned many valuable lessons," White said as he presented Rousey. "And the one that comes to mind tonight is never say never, especially when you're talking to UFC. In my defense, when I famously said women would never fight in the UFC, I had never met Ronda Rousey. I had never met the woman who would change everything. She started by changing my mind and she ended up changing the world."
Rousey quickly became one of the sport's biggest stars. She headlined her last four pay-per-view fights, with the final two drawing 1.1 million pay-per-view buys, and the one before that producing 900,000 buys. The only other UFC fighters to attract those numbers since 2014 are
Conor McGregor and
Brock Lesnar.
She was named the most dominant active athlete by multiple outlets in 2015, and an online ESPN poll during that time tabbed Rousey as the best female athlete ever. She also became a crossover celebrity during that time with supporting roles in the films "The Expendables 3," "Furious 7" and "Entourage."
Rousey was one of the biggest stars in the world and viewed as unbeatable, until her shocking second-round knockout loss to
Holly Holmin front of 56,214 fans in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 15, 2015. She returned one year later but was knocked out again, this time just 48 seconds into the first round against
Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 in Las Vegas on Dec. 30, 2016. Rousey has not competed in MMA since that loss. She signed with the WWE in January.
"Every time I walked into that cage, I was hoping to make you proud," Rousey told the crowd. "We have had this incredible journey, and it was really an honor to be able to live it with you."
by Arash Markazi
ESPN Senior Writer
| Main Card |
|---|
| Weight class | | | | Method | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|
| Heavyweight | Daniel Cormier | def. | Stipe Miocic (c) | KO (punches) | 1 | 4:33 | [a] |
| Heavyweight | Derrick Lewis | def. | Francis Ngannou | Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Mike Perry | def. | Paul Felder | Decision (split) (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Anthony Pettis | def. | Michael Chiesa | Submission (triangle armbar) | 2 | 0:52 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Khalil Rountree Jr. | def. | Gökhan Saki | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:36 | |
| Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1) |
|---|
| Middleweight | Paulo Costa | def. | Uriah Hall | TKO (punches) | 2 | 2:38 | |
| Bantamweight | Raphael Assunção | def. | Rob Font | Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Drakkar Klose | def. | Lando Vannata | Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Curtis Millender | def. | Max Griffin | Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Early Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) |
|---|
| Lightweight | Dan Hooker | def. | Gilbert Burns | KO (punches) | 1 | 2:28 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Emily Whitmire | def. | Jamie Moyle | Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) | 3 | 5:00 |
- Fight of the Night: None awarded
- Performance of the Night: Daniel Cormier, Anthony Pettis, Khalil Rountree Jr., and Paulo Costa
- Daniel Cormier: $500,000 (no win bonus) def. Stipe Miocic: $750,000
- Derrick Lewis: $260,000 (includes $130,000 win bonus) def. Francis Ngannou: $100,000
- Mike Perry: $80,000 ($40,000 win bonus) def. Paul Felder: $46,000
- Anthony Pettis: $289,400 ($135,000 win bonus) def. Michael Chiesa: $25,600*
- Khalil Rountree Jr.: $38,000 ($19,000 win bonus) def. Gokhan Saki: $85,000
- Paulo Costa: $110,000 ($55,000 win bonus) def. Uriah Hall: $48,000
- Raphael Assunção: $130,000 ($60,000 win bonus) def. Rob Font: $33,000
- Drakkar Klose: $44,000 ($22,000 win bonus) def. Lando Vannata: $25,000
- Curtis Millender: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus) def. Max Griffin: $20,000
- Daniel Hooker: $60,000 ($30,000 win bonus) def. Gilbert Burns: $31,000
- Emily Whitmire: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def. Jamie Moyle: $12,000
Chiesa was fined $11,400, 30 percent of his purse for failing to make the required weight for his fight with Anthony Pettis. That money was issued to Pettis, an NSAC official confirmed
