Ranked "The Most Dominant" active athlete by Business Insider and Sports Illustrated in 2015, and honored with the title of "Best Female Athlete Ever" later that same year in an online ESPN poll, Ronda Rousey has made a huge impact not just in the Ultimate Fighting Championship but the entire sports world. Rousey dominated UFC with 12 straight wins, 11 of them in the first round and nine by submission. Her fandom and success as a fighter helped push her to become, at one time, the highest paid fighter in the UFC. Ronda Rousey suddenly became a household name and was even one of the most searched people on Google. However, Rousey's total annihilation in the ring wasn't the only thing attracting fans to her.
Rousey has shown herself to be a very friendly woman outside the octagon with a charming personality, making appearances on talk shows and even landing roles in film. Fans were beginning to realize that Ronda does have a beautiful sweet side when she's not breaking arms on the mat. Rousey shows off her classy side at premieres and talk shows, shows her quirky gamer side during Xbox Live Sessions, and shows off her steamy side in bikinis on the beach.
While we all enjoy seeing the many alluring sides of Ronda Rousey, there are also plenty of pictures we'd rather not look at. Despite years of dominance, all glory was fleeting. Rousey suffered a shocking upset defeat against Holly Holm, and a year later was absolutely embarrassed by Amanda Nunes, losing in just 48 seconds. While Rousey with a mouth guard stuffed in her mouth is not her at her hottest, these shocking defeats certainly aren't pictures of her looking her best. However, there are still plenty of pics out there and pics still to come that we can't help ourselves from looking at. This article is about these pics; the one's we want to see and a few that we really don't. Here are 1o pictures of Ronda Rousey looking great, and 5 of her looking not so hot.
15 15. Ronda In Body Paint (Looking Great)
In 2016, Ronda Rousey became the latest female athlete to pose for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit wearing only body paint. Some people were very critical of the athletes that posed in this manner claiming it sexualized women and lessened their merits as an athlete. Obviously, athletes such as Alex Morgan, Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova didn’t share these opinions and posed wearing only paint with no objection. In fact, these women supported the message behind the body paint and other pro-body image issues, in that women of all body types should be comfortable in their own skin.
The only thing controversial about Rousey appearing in body paint, and other photoshoots where she is wearing very little or nothing at all, would be her previous comments she made regarding posing in such pics. Rousey commented that nude or sexual photos would be seen by their kids later in life and therefore women should be careful about what pics get taken and published. These comments were viewed as hypocritical by Miesha Tate who publicly criticized Rousey for her comments.
14 14. Ronda On The Red Carpet (Looking Great)
As her domination in mixed martial arts continued, Ronda Rousey started to become a household name. Her success and personality helped her reach celebrity status. Rousey has appeared at the EPSYs as one would expect, but Rousey has almost made appearances for WWE’s Mae Young Classic, Saturday Night Live, movie premieres, as well as other award ceremonies.
Like most athletes, Ronda Rousey cleans up nicely and looks nothing like the “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey in the ring. Usually donning long flowing dresses, straightened hair and on-point makeup, Rousey works the camera like she’s working her opponent on the mat. Ronda seems completely natural in the spotlight, and with her classy, formal attire no one minds the spotlight being on her.
13 13. Ronda On The Streets (Looking Meh)
Not that Ronda Rousey is dressed for a fashion show during matches against her opponents, but this picture is definitely not one of Ronda Rousey’s finer moments. Here is Rousey coming out of a laser treatment facility which was taken in 2015, around the time of her loss to Holly Holm. Clearly Rousey was dressed for comfort here and Rousey was going through a tough time following her first MMA loss. Let's go back to that loss.
Rousey had no plan for Holm’s superior striking, and the heavily favored Ronda lost in the second round after Holm delivered a devastating high kick, KOing Rousey in a surprising upset victory. Ronda lost her title and suffered her first loss, which deeply affected her.
The loss was so painful to Rousey that she admitted in an interview to having suicidal thoughts afterwards. Thankfully, she got over it, but this loss is definitely one of the worst moments in Rousey’s life and career.
12 12. Ronda In WWE (Looking Good)
With Ronda’s MMA career seemingly at an end, Ronda Rousey is free to venture into other projects. One of these projects is the natural transition into WWE. The McMahons have been made an active effort to sign Ronda Rousey to their company, and they may have done just that. Rousey has already made her WWE presence felt, making an appearance at WrestleMania 31 and hip tossing Triple H.
Ronda Rousey moving to the WWE seems almost too perfect. Ronda has the wrestling skills, the strength, the athletic conditioning and the sexy and powerful look. She also has a great personality, she’s still widely popular among fans and, to top it all off, she’s a huge professional wrestling fan herself. Her nickname “Rowdy” is a homage to "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, and she along with Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir have dubbed themselves "The Four Horsewomen" virtually assuring a Horsewomen vs. Horsewomen feud in WWE.
11 11. Ronda, The Gamer (Looking Good)
What’s better than a hot athlete who looks great and can kick butt? A hot athlete that looks great, can kick butt and loves video games, that’s what. Ronda Rousey is an avid gamer, who enjoys playing such games as Pokemon, World of Warcraft and Assassin’s Creed. This is one gamer I wouldn’t troll. Rousey clearly breaks the modern gamer stereotype as easily as she could break Massively Multiplayer Online Game trolls.
As if that wasn’t enough, Rousey is also a huge fan of Dragon Ball Z. She has gone so far as to come out and say that she had a childhood crush on Vegeta. Rousey's quirky personal interests come off as nerdy, but it's actually kind of a turn-on. Rousey going against the standard geeky gamer archetype is rather enjoyable to see. Just don’t tell her I called her “nerdy.”
10 10. Ronda Without Makeup (Meh)
Ronda Rousey isn’t going for looks when she’s fighting and neither is her opponent. So, seeing her without makeup in the ring isn’t all the surprising. However, there is a noticeable difference between Ronda Rousey the fighter and Ronda Rousey who is making scheduled public appearances looking absolutely gorgeous.
When Rousey is hitting the red carpet, she has her hair done, flashing her long eyelashes and puffing her red lips. In the ring, that’s not the case and sometimes even outside the ring as well. This pic is definitely one we can refrain from looking at. Not that anyone would be upset waking up next to Ronda Rousey (unless she knocked you out), but Rousey without makeup just isn’t her A-Game.
9 9. The Tonight Show (Looking Great)
Ronda Rousey’s MMA career may not have ended the way she had hoped, but her career propelled her to celebrity status. Ronda seems to be a natural at it too, with her charming personality and stunning good looks. She has made appearances on such late night shows as The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Conan and even morning shows like The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Ronda loves the spotlight and seems to enjoy life in the public eye. She dresses like a star on the red carpet and takes her appearances to the next level on these talk shows. Oftentimes, Ronda is wearing a very leggy dress, showing off the damage a high leg kick could do. She looks totally hot in her late night appearances making every late night appearance must see TV.
8 8. Weigh-ins (Looking Great)
Ronda Rousey’s job in UFC wasn’t to look good. It was to destroy her opponent. Still, even in the ring, Rousey’s fit and athletic body wasn’t bad to look at whatsoever. During the weigh ins, Rousey showed off that incredible physique during each one and looked good doing it as well.
There’s something about a girl in spandex that makes it difficult not to stare. Ronda Rousey is no exception. Her great personality, smile and beautiful look just make the MMA outfit look all the more sexy. Watching Ronda Rousey’s weigh-ins is something that will be truly missed. Not only is it a lost chance to see Rousey strip down but in some cases, the weigh ins got a little physical and a little intense, and made great entertainment.
7 7. Covering Up At Airport (Looking Meh)
It was a truly dark day for Ronda Rousey, and for UFC for that matter. With Rousey's defeat, the UFC lost a lot of interest in their top star in the sport. Rousey's demeanor after the fight didn't help matters, as she covered herself up on the way to the airport, and didn't' 'face the music' so to speak.
Rousey took a year off from the octagon and returned to face Amanda Nunes in late 2016. Many hoped to see Ronda rebound. The two ladies hated each other, and one of the most hyped matches in UFC history was attracting a lot of attention. Unfortunately, Nunes might not have been the best fighter for Rousey to rebound with. Nunes was, and still is the Bantamweight Champion after all.
Nunes destroyed Rousey in 48 seconds in what was an embarrassing fight for Rousey and UFC. Rousey hasn’t been in UFC since, and her career in MMA looks to be over.
6 6. At Movie Premieres (Looking Great)
With her popularity soaring, Ronda Rousey has been a heavily sought out guest for many talk shows, awards ceremonies and entertainment productions. She's hosted Saturday Night Live, she's appeared in WWE at WrestleMania 31 and has even ventured into Hollywood, appearing on television and in film.
Because of her dominance in MMA, Ronda Rousey was a perfect choice to be cast in a movie full of action heroes. Ronda appeared in The Expendables 3 in 2014, marking her first role in a major film, Furious 7 of the Fast and Furious saga in 2015 and in Entourage playing herself. She is currently filming another movie after appearing in TV series like Blindspot and Drunk History as well.
Rousey struts down the red carpet with each movie premiere and looks fabulous in each appearance. If that's not reason enough to want Rousey in more films, I don't know what is.
5 5. MMA On The Beach (Looking Great)
Ronda Rousey's Sports Illustrated body paint issue enthralled her fans and pretty much anyone that enjoys sexy athletes on the beach. However, Rousey has modeled on the beach on other SI issues as well. Ronda Rousey graced us with some amazing beach photos of herself, engaged in a workout routine wearing only a bikini.
Most people enjoy looking at Ronda Rousey's ring work, but Ronda on the beach showing off her physique in a bikini is something we can't stop ourselves from looking at. She definitely has the body of a model but the temperament of a fighter, saying she feels more comfortable doing the workout shoots than the "kissy-faced" looks of models. Although reluctant at first to model for magazines like Sports Illustrated and Maxim, Rousey says she's also happy to put her body in those magazines, believing that there shouldn't be just one body type in those publications.
4 4. Ronda Rousey Crying On Ellen (Looking Meh)
After Holly Holm's battle plan against Ronda Rousey succeeded flawlessly, Rousey got knocked out, lost her title and went into seclusion for a short time. About three months later, Rousey appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and admitted she contemplated suicide after her devastating loss. Rousey said she felt as if she was nothing after her defeat and questioned who she was if not the dominate champion of UFC. She believed that people would think of her as nothing, but later said her boyfriend (and later husband) Travis Browne got her through the painful loss.
While the loss was a horrible moment for Ronda Rousey, the sight of her crying next to Ellen is definitely a moment where she's not looking the best. Her suicide comments and teary-eyed moment are also a little cringeworthy. Not that those thoughts should be taken lightly, but many fighters go through the same defeat feeling just as terrible without resorting to such drama on national television. Rousey may have needed a little humility, but breaking down and crying may have hurt her image more than helped.
3 3. Ronda Rousey Training (Looking Great)
Whatever the future holds for Ronda Rousey there will definitely be training and workouts involved. She is still going to maintain her terrific shape which will help her land movie roles, television appearances and a near certain future in WWE. Luckily, excessive training is nothing new to Ronda, and working out is as routine as brushing one's teeth.
While we're all glad Ronda is staying in shape and hitting the gym to maintain her phenomenal condition, her workout videos, pictures and routines are definitely ones no one minds looking at. Like her appearance in the ring, Ronda isn't dressed to impress or donning any makeup for her exercises, but she's still looking incredible. The sight of her wearing a steamy sports bra and tight yoga pants all while dominating her workout routine is an image that can stay fresh in our minds.
2 2. Ronda Rousey, The Action Star? (Looking Great)
Ronda Rousey's dominance in the ring made her a real life action hero to men and women alike. Her toughness, her personality and her marketable look allowed her to land her first major role in The Expendables 3. With some movies and television appearances under her belt, Rousey is no longer a stranger to Hollywood. Her popularity, the fact that she can still kick butt and her appearances in two action films have all opened the door for her to be the next major action star of Hollywood.
Just like The Rock using WWE to propel him to Hollywood, Ronda Rousey has used UFC to propel herself as well. The world is open to Rousey, whether it's in action films or WWE. While Rousey looks great in a WWE ring, she looks great on the poster of an action film as well. Seeingas women don't really have an action star to look up to, the market should be wide open for Ronda Rousey in the action film genre.
1 1. Ronda Rousey With Her Hubby (Meh)
Rousey doesn't look bad in this photo. After all, what are you supposed to dress like when you're just grabbing a quick coffee and dessert? The problem is the photo is a heartbreaker to anyone hoping she is still on the market. No, Ronda Rousey is with Travis Browne, who went from her "boyfriend at the time," to now husband. Both have been happily married since August of 2017, and Browne is no pushover to say the least. Browne is an MMA fighter also with 18 wins under his belt during his own UFC career.
Rousey and Browne seem to be a perfect fit for each other. Still, the thought of Ronda being married is not something we’d all like to be reminded of, especially when she looks so good in so many other photos.