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Ronda Rousey was a generational talent that stepped inside the Octagon and left a legacy hard to match for anybody. Though Valentina Shevchenko broke her 6 title defense record, her dominance is still unmatched in the UFC. During her run, everyone from media members to UFC President Dana White to veteran color commentator Joe Rogan, was awestruck by Rousey’s phenomenal performances.
Joe Rogan praised Ronda Rousey so much that he commented she could beat half of the UFC’s male bantamweight fighters. But not only that, the UFC announcer believed she could dominate the undefeated boxing legend, Floyd Mayweather, as well.
In an appearance on ESPN’s SportsNation, Rogan, when asked who would win a hypothetical contest between ‘Money’ and ‘Rowdy’, said, “Ronda Rousey. I’m not kidding you. It’s too hard to avoid the clinch.”
“If Ronda got a clinch on him, it’s not just about worrying about getting taken down to the ground, it’s about worrying about knees to the body, it’s worrying about her manipulating his body in a way that he doesn’t understand,” believed Rogan.
The first-ever woman to win an Olympic medal in Women’s Judo for the United States, ‘Rowdy’, was a prolific exploiter of the armbar technique in MMA. Besides, her judo throws were always there when she got into a clinch with her opponents.
‘TBE‘ does not have professional mixed martial arts experience. Thus, the 50-0 boxer would struggle on the ground with the former UFC champion. Although putting him there could prove a hard assignment for Rousey, given her inexperience in boxing and closing the distance.
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Rogan’s praise came when Rousey was an undefeated UFC athlete herself. Though the JRE host later on his podcast admitted he hyped the judoka, at the same time he said it was not ‘bullsh**’; It was because of ‘Rowdy’ performing spectacularly inside the Octagon before her losses.
Joe Rogan was not wrong in hyping up Ronda Rousey
Even though ‘Rowdy’ lost two of her last UFC championship bouts, there has been no other fighter who has only competed in all championship bouts inside the Octagon.
Rousey’s overall MMA record stands at 12-2, 6-2 in the UFC. But the critical factor was her domination in the division. In her six UFC title defenses, she only went outside the first round on one occasion. Besides, she had three finishes inside the 60-second mark in her last three UFC championship bouts, where she won.
Her average total time in UFC stands at 3:06, which is the shortest time frame inside the Octagon for a UFC champion. All these attributes contribute to Rogan’s comments at the time.
