Ronda Rousey Shows She Can Hold Her Own Against Men [VIDEO]
Ultimate Fighting Championship, or, UFC President Dana White’s joke that his biggest draw women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey might soon be taking on men in future fights might just come true. The Olympic bronze medallist showed that he could hold her own against one of the UFC’s former top talent in BJ Penn when they figured in a training session.
Rousey and the Penn are the subjects of a viral video that showed “Rowdy” sparring with the two-division champion at the Art of Jiu Jitsu gym which is owned by mixed martial arts practitioners and brothers Guilhermer and Rafael Mendes. In the a little bit over than two minutes footage, Rowdy is seen grabbing and rolling with “The Prodigy,” which showcases her judo skills and appears to even able to take down a heavier Penn, who is no slouch with his titles in lightweight and welterweight divisions.
The 28-year-old Rousey has continued a dominant run in the UFC, winning 4 straight all through technical knockouts or submissions. Her last bout against Alexis Davis finished in just under 16 seconds after she unleashed a vicious body punch that ended the match. This kind of dominant performance is the main reason why White has been joking that with nobody left in the division to challenge his fighter, he might just pit Rousey against a man in the future.
"She's gonna have to start fighting men if she walks through Cat Zingano," UFC president Dana White jokingkly told the media after the UFC Fight Night event that featured Ben Henderson and Brandon Thatch.
Rousey is set to defend her title anew on Feb. 28 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California against number three ranked pound-for-pound female fighter Cat Zingano. Zingano, who was sidelined for a year due to knee issues has recently proven that she has recovered from the injury when she finished off Amanda Nunes with a flurry of punches and elbows during UFC 178 last Sept. 27, 2014. Now, she is raring to get a chance to snatch the belt from Rousey.
The reigning UFC queen has nothing but respect for her opponent but maintains that she will still come out on top of the main event for UFC 184. If anything, her training regimen which now includes testing her mettle against male fighters only adds to her assurance as shown in the training with BJ Penn below:
(Youtube/Keith Agnew)
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