Move over, boys. There’s a new sheriff in town and she goes by the name of Ronda Rousey (Pictured).
Although UFC President Dana White was adamant that a woman would never set foot inside his Octagon, before finally caving when he saw how brightly Rousey’s star shined, White claims Rousey’s big league debut is garnering more mainstream media attention than any other event the MMA organization has hosted.
Up until Rousey’s arrival, former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was the most popular name the promotion had possessed. That was primarily due to Lesnar’s history with the WWE.
However, now that Lesnar has returned to his fake fighting ways, White professes Rousey has more than filled the void the professional wrestler left behind.
“This is, without a doubt, the most media attention we’ve ever had leading up to a fight,” White stated during Thursday’s UFC 157 press conference. “And when I talk about media attention, I’m talking about big time media. [Rousey] blows [Lesnar] out of the water. No fighter has ever fought in the UFC has had more attention than she has. It’s a fact.
“Honestly, going into this thing I didn’t know that would happen – that HBO and TIME Magazine and all these other outlets that never cover us would. And if they did, I didn’t think it was going to be positive. I thought it was going to be freak show. Nobody pulled the freak show card.”
Rousey defends her bantamweight crown against Liz Carmouche Saturday at UFC 157. Not only does the scrap mark the first time two females will fight inside the Octagon, but the ladies are headlining the pay-per-view broadcast.
Rousey is an astronomical 14-to-1 odds-on favorite to retain her title. The only freakish thing this card could offer is if she loses.
Source: 5thRound.com