Hollywood the biggest threat to Ronda Rousey's dominance?
MELBOURNE, Australia — The thing feared by Ronda Rousey fans as the factor most likely to end her UFC domination is not another fighter, but Hollywood.
Rousey, who takes on Holly Holm at UFC 193 in Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, has a burgeoning sideline in action movies, and as overpowering as her mixed martial arts rein has been, the end of the road might be nearing with the movie world offering a lucrative and less dangerous career switch.
However, while the 28-year-old did not give any definitive answers on her future this week, she insisted that her experiences acting in films such as Furious 7 and The Expendables 3 had actually helped her performances in the octagon, rather than providing a hindrance.
"People might think of it like I am being pulled in too many directions at once and so I can’t focus properly, but that’s not the case," Rousey said. "The more I have going on and the more chaos there is, the better it is for me. Making movies, being super busy, that actually makes me fight better."
Rousey’s fierce competitiveness has spilled over into acting, and she admitted that working alongside action stars such as Jason Statham and Vin Diesel had been a powerful learning experience.
Statham, a former competitive diver who nearly reached Olympic level, would come to watch Rousey train during her down time while they were in Bulgaria filming for Expendables 3.
"Guys like (Statham and Diesel) taught me that work ethic is what is important in every profession," Rousey said. "I love that Statham really takes pride in that he does the most physically demanding things and really tries to put a lot of time in his body athleticism and his fight scenes and everything like that. It gave me some competition where I am like 'I want to do as good as Statham in his fight scenes.' He really puts a lot of time and energy into that."
Rousey will be making the third defense of her UFC women’s bantamweight title in less than nine months when she steps into the ring against Holm, a former world boxing champion.
She is widely expected to continue the dominance in the sport that she has shown since switching to MMA following a long judo career that earned her a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Most observers feel the best chance for Holm, or any future opponent, is if Rousey has been distracted by the growing demands and pressure brought about by her ever-increasing profile.
"I love it when people question me and wonder if I am going to have lost some of my edge or something like that," Rousey said. "It just motivates me more to work even harder. I work harder than anyone in MMA. There is no one who can match me. If people think that being involved in a movie is going to stop me, it will take more than that."
Rousey has already planned what to do if she emerges victorious against Holm — UFC president Dana White has booked out a Melbourne restaurant and hired a chef to prepare a huge serving of chicken wings, the food treat that Rousey denies herself during training and indulges in after fights.
With the fight taking place on Sunday afternoon Australian time, Rousey will take Monday to explore some of the sights Melbourne has to offer before returning to the U.S. and turning her attention to the entertainment side of her career.
Preparations will soon begin for filming of Roadhouse, a reboot of the 1989 film of the same name that starred the late Patrick Swayze in the lead role. Other offers have already been submitted to her and will be considered when "the time is right."
It all adds up to a frenetic schedule, but Rousey says she wouldn’t have it any other way.
"Starting from zero and learning a skill all over again keeps me interested and motivated and I have to prove myself," Rousey said. "I don’t want to run out of goals. I want to have a new place where everyone doubts me and I have something new to prove."
Follow Martin Rogers on Twitter @mrogersUSAT.
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