Read My Fight / Your Fight Online
Authors: Ronda Rousey
My Fight / Your Fight
For Mom and Dad, I hope you're proud of me.
“There is no history of anything happening until it does. And then there is.”
âMom
Foreword by Dana White, President of the UFC
Winning Is the Greatest Feeling in the World
Everything Can Change in a Split Second
Never Underestimate an Opponent
Losing Is One of the Most Devastating Experiences in Life
Do Not Accept Less than What You're Capable Of
Just Because It's a Rule Doesn't Mean It's Right
Pain Is Just One Piece of Information
Turn Limitations into Opportunities
Trust in Knowledge, Not in Strength
Find Fulfillment in the Sacrifices
You Have to Be the Best on Your Worst Day
No One Has the Right to Beat You
You Will Never Win a Fight by Running Away
Don't Rely on Others to Make Your Decisions
People Around You Control Your Reality
The End of a Failed Move Is Always the Beginning of the Next One
Anything of Value Has to Be Earned
Everything Is as Easy as a Decision
When Do You Cross the Magical Boundary That Stops You from Dreaming Big?
People Appreciate Excellence No Matter Who You Are
A Loss Is Still a Loss, but It's Better to Go Out in Flaming Glory
This Is My Situation, but This Isn't My Life
You Can't Rely on Just One Thing to Make You Happy
Disregard Nonessential Information
Relationships That Are Easily Ruined Were Never Worth Much
Someone Has to Be the Best in the World. Why Not You?
Finding a Coach Is Like Finding a Boyfriend
If It Was Easy, Everyone Would Do It
The Only Power People Have Over You Is the Power You Give Them
I'd Rather Expose Myself Willingly Than Wait in Fear for It to Happen Against My Will
Refuse to Accept Any Other Reality
The Best Fighters Are Patient at the Right Times
There Is a Moment in a Match Where It's There for the Taking and It Comes Down to Who Wants It Most
You Have to Be Willing to Embarrass Yourself
Prepare for the Perfect Opponent
Don't Let Anyone Force You to Take a Step Backward
The Answer Is: There Is No Right Answer
The Hardest Part Is Knowing When to Walk Away
BY DANA WHITE, PRESIDENT OF THE UFC
Ronda Rousey is a game changer.
Of course I didn't know that in 2011, when I was in Los Angeles and was asked by TMZ when women were going to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). I looked at the camera and said, “Never.”
Back then, I meant it. I had no problem with women fighting and making a living doing it, but whenever the subject of having them compete in the UFC came up, I flashed back to this fight I had seen in a local show in Northern California. There was this woman who fought just like a guy, and she was in the ring with someone who looked like she took five Tae Bo classes. It was one of the worst, one-sided beatings I've ever seen, and I just didn't want to see that in the UFC.
Then Ronda showed up.
A few months after the TMZ interview, we had a show in Las Vegas, and someone was calling my name. It was Ronda Rousey. I had heard of her; I had been told that she was a good female fighter. I walked over, shook her hand, and she said, “I'm gonna fight for you someday and I'm going to be your first female world champion.” Now you've got to understand, everybodyâmen and womenâtells me that. They all say, “I'm gonna work for you someday and be your next world champion.”
But she was persistent, and as I watched her compete in the Strikeforce promotion that we had bought, I knew that she was something special. Ronda asked to have a meeting with me at one of the UFC events. Fifteen minutes into the conversation, I was thinking to myself, “I think I'm gonna do this. She's the one who can kick-start this whole thing, and I believe every word that's coming out of her mouth.” She had such charisma and energy. And to watch her fight, she was unbelievable.
So I made my decision, Ronda came in, and I made her the main event of UFC 157 on February 23, 2013. That decision got a lot of heat from the media and the fans, but she went out that night in Anaheim and delivered an awesome fight against Liz Carmouche. It was exciting from the moment it started until it finished, just before the bell rang to end the first round.
That was just the beginning.
The level of talent among the women just skyrocketed. It took off so fast that I never saw it coming. And leading it all was Ronda. She really is the perfect storm. I knew it, I felt it, and I went with it. Talent, looks, determination, she has it all. And while she went from bartender to superstardom, the reality is that she was always this amazing athlete, a former Olympic medalist who finally found what it was she wanted to do. She realized that she was a competitor who wanted to go out there and prove that she was the absolute best. And once she came to that realization, she took over the world of mixed martial arts, absolutely dominated it, and became one of the biggest, if not
the
biggest, stars in the UFC.
When I call her a game changer, it's because she is one in every sense of the word. Not just for women, but for women's sports too. People always say, “Ah, women's basketball, it's the WNBA,” “Women's golf, they hit from a shorter tee,” “Women's tennis, they don't hit as hard as the men.” Nobody says that about Ronda Rousey. She is one of the most intense, unbelievable athletes I've worked with in all my years in boxing and MMA, and I'm not alone in comparing her in the Octagon to a prime Mike Tyson. Watch her intensity, watch how she walks out and how she runs after her opponent. She's not messing around, and when she comes out to fight, you know bad stuff is going to happen to her opponent.
She just has this focus, not just in a fight or in training, but in her everyday life. This is a woman who doesn't party. All she does is wake up every morning and say, “How can I be better than I was yesterday?” That's literally how she lives her life.
Ronda is an incredible role model, empowering women and girls. When I was a kid, the boys played over here and the girls played over there; the boys do all the physical stuff and the girls play with dolls and play house. This past Halloween girls across the country dressed up as Ronda Rousey. That's because she's an amazing, beautiful, and powerful woman.
She inspires everyone. This past summer, the Little League World Series was going on, and Pierce Jones, a thirteen-year-old African-American boy from the South Side of Chicago, one of the stars of the series, comes up to bat, and underneath all his stats, it listed his favorite athlete. It was Ronda Rousey. That's groundbreaking. He could have picked anyoneâLeBron James, Derek Jeter, there are so many male athletes to choose fromâbut his favorite athlete is Ronda Rousey.
Ronda has changed the world of sports, and by the time she's done, she may change the world as well. I don't put anything past her, and I almost feel like Ronda Rousey is writing her book too soon, because she's just getting started. What this woman is going to accomplish is going to be amazing, so get ready for Part Two of the Ronda Rousey story.
