Ronda Rousey is inarguably one of the greatest female MMA fighters to walk on this planet. She had an amazing career in the UFC. The American wrestler looked so dominant in the promotion that even athletes from other sports were petrified to square off against her.
One of them was Arizona Cardinals defensive end, J. J. Watt. During one of his media appearances in 2015, a reporter questioned the NFL star if he would clash against ‘Rowdy’.
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Even though Watt has immense physical attributes, given his 6’5″ height and 293-pound, he refused to fight Rousey. “Would I? Did I? We didn’t fight. I am not that dumb,” Watt said.
Both athletes had endorsement deals with Reebok and also co-starred in a commercial together in 2015. Watt had only good words for the UFC Hall of Famer while sharing his experience working with her.
Further on in the interview, the former Houston Texans said, “Yeah, it was good. She obviously, I think, being able to team up with her and with Reebok; I think it’s cool because I mean Ronda’s one of the biggest bada**es on the planet.”
“So for her and I to be able to be in the same campaign… And being on the same team is really cool. I have a lot of respect for what she does and how hard she works…,” Watt added.
J. J. Watt also backed Ronda Rousey for her title defense
Working on the commercial together, ‘Rowdy’ and Watt shared a good relationship with each other. The NFL star even backed the American fighter for her seventh consecutive UFC title defense.
When someone asks who's going to win the fight tonight. #andSTILL pic.twitter.com/ORPjs3YDiM
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) November 14, 2015
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The Wisconsin-born athlete rooted for the champion before her big fight against former boxing champion Holly Holm at UFC 193. He took to his social media accounts and posted a picture of himself wearing a Rousey t-shirt.
Unfortunately, ‘Rowdy’ didn’t fare well in the fight. She faced her first ever MMA setback as Holm knocked her out in the second round. The Olympic medalist, later, lost another UFC bout against Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. Post this, she parted ways with the sport.
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What are your thoughts on Watt backing Rousey for her title defense? What do you guys think about Watt not fighting the former UFC star? Let us know in the comments section.
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