Born February 1, 1987, international judo champ Ronda Rousey has been called an "MMA powerhouse" by Black Belt magazine. Her judo info in terms of competition success would arguably qualify her as a "judo powerhouse," as well. At the 2004 Olympics, the 17-year-old North Dakota native was the youngest judoka competing. She placed ninth, which was the highest place attained by an American female judoka.
At the 2004 World Junior Judo Championships, she won a gold medal. At the 2006 World Junior Judo Championships, she took home a bronze medal. At the 2008 Olympics, she was awarded bronze. In addition, the medal count on her judo-info roster adds up to more than 20 golds from other competitions.
JUDO VIDEOS
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Switching gears from judo info to MMA info, Ronda Rousey's MMA debut took place in 2010. As of May 2012, her amateur MMA record stands at 3-0, while her professional MMA record stands at 5-0.
Taking Ronda Rousey's judo info and MMA info into account, it's obvious she's a skilled martial artist whether outfitted with a judo
gi or with MMA gloves. She's also popular. A
YouTube search for "Ronda Rousey" yields nearly 1,500 judo videos and (non-judo videos) featuring the judoka in action, in interviews, at MMA weigh-ins and other situations.
So how did all this success for Ronda Rousey — MMA and judo extraordinaire — get started?
RONDA ROUSEY MMA / JUDO INFO — HOW SHE GOT STARTED IN THE MARTIAL ARTS: "I started doing swimming, actually, because we lived in North Dakota, and there was no judo out there," Ronda Rousey says. "Then my family moved to California, and my mom became the first American to win the World Championships in judo. All her old teammates used to train in Los Angeles, and when she went to visit them, I just jumped on the mat to try it. I was 10 years old and didn’t have my hair tied — it was flying all over the place. My first coach, after practice, said, 'It’s a lot more fun than swimming, isn’t it?' He was [teasing] me, but I was like, 'Yeah, it really is.' I ended up quitting swimming and starting judo."
RONDA ROUSEY MMA / JUDO INFO — HOW SHE PARLAYED HER JUDO SKILLS INTO MMA SUCCESS: "I’m lucky in that judo translates [to MMA] very easily," Ronda Rousey says. "I actually think that hasn’t been taken advantage of enough because judo is one of the few styles [in which] you can take someone down and you don’t change levels. I can be standing the exact same [way for] striking as for trying to take someone down. A lot of the people I train with now used to be judo people — Gokor Chivichyan and 'Judo' Gene LeBell — and their specialty is applying judo techniques to MMA. It’s gone more smoothly than I would have hoped."
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