LEGENDARY UFC fighter Ronda Rousey was nicknamed “The Baddest Woman On The Planet” at the peak of her powers.
The former-UFC star did more than most to put the women’s division on the map.
Splash NewsRonda Rousey now competes in the WWE[/caption]
AlamyShe held the UFC bantamweight belt from 2012 until 2015[/caption]
She was instated by White as the inaugural women’s bantamweight champion in 2012 and held the title for a record breaking three years, defending her belt seven times.
But prior to her stint as a UFC champion, Rousey was working in a BAR to pay her way.
After taking a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympics, Rousey was struggling to make ends meet.
She took a job at the Redwood Bar and Grill in downtown Los Angeles as a means to keep afloat before she entered the UFC.
Her former bar manager said that while she was not the best bartender, she did use it as an opportunity to exhibit her MMA skills.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, Chrisitna Frizzell said: “When she came, her bartending skills were not very good,
“But like with everything else she does, she honed in…and within a few weeks she was as good as anyone else.”
MMA Junkie claim that Rousey would put her judo skills to use when needed in the bar, once flipping a mouthy colleague over the bar during an altercation.
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Her former manager Frizzell said Rousey’s co-workers always encouraged Rousey to pursue her UFC dreams.
She said: “I remember there being an [MMA] fight on [television], one of the first ones with women, and her saying she could do that.
“I encouraged her to do it and thought she could go as far as she wanted to.
“When she fights, everyone here is right behind her.
“We know what kind of person she is and how hard she has had to work to be successful.”
Rousey would return to the bar she used to work at as a champion in 2015 for a business meeting with Dana White.
At the conclusion of the meeting, she hopped behind the bar to roll back the years and pour patrons pints.
Rousey would eventually lose her UFC title in 2015 after a shock defeat to Holly Holm.
She would only fight once more before eventually leaving the UFC in 2016.
Rousey was inducted into the UFC hall of fame in 2018 to recognise her work in promoting the women’s sport.
Rousey’s second act was to become a WWE superstar after leaving the UFC.
She has held both the Smackdown and Raw titles during her time in the sport and currently wrestles in the Raw division.