Ronda Rousey is an icon in the world of UFC and helped inspire a new generation of fighters with her success.
The former UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion is one of the greatest female fighters in UFC history.
Ronda Rousey won the first-ever female UFC fight in history at UFC 147, kicking off one of the most dominant reigns in the promotion’s history.
While Rousey’s title reign was ended by Holly Holm in one of the UFC’s biggest upsets, her success inspired one UFC Atlanta star to give MMA a try for the first time.
- READ MORE – Kayla Harrison vs. Ronda Rousey was a wild Judo firefight years before both women became MMA superstars
Ronda Rousey inspired Miranda Maverick to start training in MMA
Rousey’s heroics in the octagon directly inspired UFC Atlanta co-main eventer Miranda Maverick to try her hand in mixed martial arts.
As a 14-year-old, the American fighter caught a glimpse of Rousey in action, which piqued her interest in the sport and convinced her to try her hand at combat sports.
However, a fear of getting hit in the face delayed her training, but by 17 years old, she was training in jiu-jitsu.
“She was the first person I ever saw fight. Her versus Liz Carmouche was my introduction to the idea that women even fought in MMA.” Maverick told Sportskeeda MMA Originals.
“I had no idea until that first women’s fight in the UFC. That was the first time it ever even crossed my mind.
“I was 14 years old, sitting on the sofa watching it with my dad, and he was like, ‘You could do that one day.’ And I was like, ‘No, I don’t want to get punched in the face!’
“Then, flash forward three years, I was like, ‘You know, I think I’m gonna go to a gym and try jiu-jitsu.’ And two years after that, I decided I’d try MMA for the first time. It’s been a journey since then.”
Sadly, Rousey retired from MMA four years before Maverick’s debut in the UFC, so a fight between the two never took place.
Miranda Maverick will take on Rose Namajunas in the UFC Atlanta co-main event
Maverick will compete in the biggest fight of her career so far, as she looks to beat the #7 ranked UFC Women’s Flyweight contender Rose Namajunas at UFC Atlanta.
That bout is the co-main event of the June 14 show, and it’s easy to see why. Both women are looking towards, hopefully, a future title shot, but only one will rise up the rankings with a victory.
Maverick is on a four-fight winning streak, while Namajunas has struggled since making the jump up to Flyweight.
While the Bloody Elbow experts predict that Namajunas will beat Maverick at UFC Atlanta, the up-and-coming fighter will hope to take inspiration from Rousey and end the fight quickly.