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LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 28: Ronda Rousey celebrates her victory over Cat Zingano in their UFC women’s bantamweight championship bout during the UFC 184 event at Staples Center on February 28, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

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LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 28: Ronda Rousey celebrates her victory over Cat Zingano in their UFC women’s bantamweight championship bout during the UFC 184 event at Staples Center on February 28, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Ronda Rousey had to go through a very difficult struggle to achieve an Olympic medal. She became the first woman to win a medal for the United States at the Olympics in Judo. Despite her victory, Ronda Rousey was in financial ruin and had to stay in her car for a while after she left home. After a lot of deliberation, Rousey finally started her MMA career. There was a lurking challenge, however, one that she had never imagined. Finding a suitable opponent and a fight was difficult early in Rousey’s career. In her memoir, Ronda Rousey mentioned her struggles.

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LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 30: Ronda Rousey reacts to her loss to Amanda Nunes of Brazil in their UFC women’s bantamweight championship bout during the UFC 207 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 30, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
In her memoir, ‘My Fight/ Your Fight’ Ronda Rousey mentioned how finding an opponent was a frustrating chapter in her early MMA career. Her MMA coach Darin found it difficult to find a fight for her. This was getting the fighter angry and frustrated. She would then punish her punching bag for the failure.
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Ronda Rousey punished her punching bag for not finding fights
Despite her desperate efforts, Ronda Rousey was not being able to find an opponent for herself. She and her coach tried many opponents, but often the opponents would move away after the initial agreement. Rousey was angry about not finding fights and used to beat her punching bag up to vent her frustration. In her memoir, Rousey mentioned, “In the beginning of my MMA career, the hardest part was getting fights. Darin would call and tell me he had a fight lined up. Then a few days later he’d call again to tell me that the girl’s coach said she wasn’t ready, or that I wasn’t the right opponent.”
She further added how her frustration made her feel. She wrote, “I took my frustration out on the punching bag and pounded it furiously, over and over and over. I wanted to fight. I wanted to win. I wanted to beat someone up. I told myself it was only a matter of time, and that when that time came, I was going to be ready.”
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Ronda Rousey beat an overweight fighter
Rousey’s first MMA fight came with a clause. It had to be at 150 lbs. At the time this offer came, Ronda Rousey was at 145 lbs and she took the fight. At the weigh-ins though, it was found out that her opponent was 154 lbs. ‘Rowdy’ could have taken a walkover but she chose to fight.

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MMA: UFC 207-Nunes vs Rousey, December 30, 2016 Las Vegas, NV, USA Ronda Rousey during UFC 207 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports, 30.12.2016 22:46:11, 9778786, NPStrans, T-Mobile Arena, Ronda Rousey, MMA PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMarkxJ.xRebilasx 9778786
Rousey used her Judo skills against the kickboxer. she caught her in an armbar and made her submit. The first battle went exactly the way Rousey had imagined it to be. The win gave her a lot of confidence and paved the way for a glorious MMA career.
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Watch This Story: It was just Ti***es and passports Everywhere Years Ago Ronda Rousey described the Chaos during weigh ins at European Circuit Tournaments
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