Ronda Rousey, American mixed martial artist and actress
Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand. She is best known for her time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Her longstanding nickname, "Rowdy", was inherited from professional wrestler Roddy Piper.The first American female to earn an Olympic medal in judo by winning bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Rousey began her mixed martial arts (MMA) career with King of the Cage in 2011. She soon joined Strikeforce, becoming their last Women's Bantamweight Champion until its acquisition by UFC. Rousey was part of the company's first ever female fight at UFC 157, was their inaugural Women's Bantamweight Champion, and holds the record for most UFC title defenses (6) by a female. Rousey retired from MMA in 2016 and was the first female fighter inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018.Rousey began a career in professional wrestling in 2018, signing with WWE, and debuted at WrestleMania 34. She won the Raw Women's Championship at that year's SummerSlam, and headlined WWE's inaugural all-women's pay-per-view when she successfully defended her title at WWE Evolution. Rousey lost the title in the first-ever women's WrestleMania main event at WrestleMania 35; her reign as Raw Women's Champion is the second-longest in the title's history, at 231 days. Rousey returned at the Royal Rumble in 2022, winning the namesake match.
Rousey is the only woman to win a championship in both the UFC and WWE, as well as the only woman to headline a pay-per-view event in both companies. She was voted the best female athlete of all-time in a 2015 ESPN fan poll, and Fox Sports described her as "one of the defining athletes of the 21st century." Rousey has also appeared in films, including The Expendables 3 (2014), Furious 7 (2015), and Mile 22 (2018), and released her autobiography My Fight / Your Fight in 2015.