Ronda Rousey was proving herself as ‘the baddest woman on the planet’ long before she was even a household name.
The UFC Hall of Famer experienced a movie-worthy journey to the top, so fittingly, a cinema brawl remains a key part of her story.
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Rousey had a fight in the movie theatre before starring in films herselfCredit: Getty
The 38-year-old clinched a judo bronze medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, before embarking on a trailblazing MMA career.
After retiring from UFC in 2016, Rousey then enjoyed a stint in professional wrestling, debuting at WrestleMania 34, before becoming a three-time WWE Women’s champion.
The Furious 7 actress has now been linked with a Hollywood-esque MMA return after a nine-year hiatus on the UFC’s White House card.
Rousey sparked fan excitement by dropping some fresh training footage of her grappling with her male training partner on the mats.
read more on Ronda Rousey
‘Rowdy’ mercifully took it easier on her teammate than she did on other men who once challenged the American’s judo skills.
In 2012, Rousey was firmly on the path to MMA superstardom after becoming the new Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion.
However, she wasn’t expecting her next fight to come during a visit to the cinema after ‘getting jumped by a bunch of guys’.
When asked by ESPN in 2012 if she’d ever fought a man, Rousey explained: “It happened to me a couple times, not in the sanctioned, legal way, but it was entertaining to everybody that saw it, because we got applause afterwards.
“I got jumped by a bunch of guys in the movie theatre, and I beat them up, and then everyone clapped.
“Then I was like, ‘Maybe I should fight in front of people,’ because people tend to like it. That was one of my first MMA experiences.”
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Rousey’s story is one of White’s favouritesCredit: Getty
Rousey and future UFC boss Dana White both recounted the story during separate appearances on Power 106 Los Angeles years later.
Rousey explained: “We went to the movie theatre, and it’s totally packed, except for there’s a couple of seats next to each other.”
White continued: “These two big dudes come into the movie theatre with their two girlfriends. The type of people that laugh and joke and talk on the phone during the movie.
“And to make things worse, the girls put their feet right up on her seat.”
Rousey added to ESPN: “I told her she was rude, and they tried to act tough in front of their girlfriend.”
‘Rowdy’ revealed that as soon as the credits started to roll in the movie, she ripped the girl’s shoes off and threw them at the screen.
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UFC boss White once claimed the handicap fight was one of the reasons Rousey was the baddest woman on the planetCredit: Getty
“Her boyfriend didn’t like that,” Rousey continued, “And her boyfriend’s friends didn’t like that.
“So they headed me off the aisle and told me to go get the boot. They wouldn’t let me leave. And they pushed me, and they wouldn’t let me leave.
“I was technically in a kidnapping situation. I learned this from my lawyer, and yeah, I was fearing for my life, so I had to defend myself,” Rousey claimed with a mockingly sombre look.
A brawl then broke out with Rousey, who was between the seats and the wall, able to avoid either of the two men getting around her.
She said: “I had them, like, one at a time. It was actually like a good situation for a multi-person fighting situation.”
UFC boss White took over to recount the fight itself, claiming: “One of the guys pushes her, [she] flips him over, slams him on the floor – in between the seats in the movies, that’s not a place you wanna land.
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Rousey became the first female inductee into UFC’s Hall of FameCredit: Getty
“The other guy, she grabs him [and] starts jacking him up in front of the girls and the entire movie theatre – she beats the crap out of both of these guys!”
Rousey concluded: “I dropped the two guys. This is how obnoxious this group was — the whole movie theatre was applauding.”
But the combat star, who fought the entire sequence in flip-flops, then had another defence on her hands when the police got involved.
UFC President White told EsNewsReporting.com: “She hurt them both so bad they went to the police department and filed charges against her, when they’re the ones that started the fight with her.
“That was before she started fighting. That was when she was doing judo alone.”
“It was one of those things that most girls go through,” Rousey joked to ESPN.
The first rule of Rousey’s Fight Club… don’t talk while watching it…
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White personally presented the UFC’s first women’s champion with the honourCredit: Getty
Ronda Rousey’s UFC career
One Last Dance?
Loss. Amanda Nunes via first-round TKO/KO at UFC 207 in December 2016Loss. Holly Holm via first-round TKO/KO at UFC 193 in November 2015 (dropped bantamweight title)Def. Bethe Correia via first-round TKO/KO at UFC 190 in August 2015Def. Cat Zingano via first-round submission at UFC 184 in February 2015Def. Alexis Davis via first-round TKO/KO at UFC 175 in July 2014Def. Sara McMann via first-round TKO/KO at UFC 170 in February 2014Def. Miesha Tate via third-round submission at UFC 168 in December 2013Def. Liz Carmouche via first-round submission at UFC 157 in February 2013 (won bantamweight title on debut in first-ever women’s UFC fight)What is Ronda Rousey’s UFC record?
Rousey won six of her eight fights in the UFC following her February 2013 debut.
She was named the promotion’s first-ever women’s bantamweight champion before her debut, having previously been crowned the queen at 135lbs under the Strikeforce banner.
Rousey secured her fifth successive armbar submission finish when she defeated Liz Carmouche on her debut.
She went on to defend the women’s bantamweight title a further five times to mark a one-of-a-kind UFC run.
Her first defeat came in November 2015 when she was shockingly knocked out by Holly Holm in her penultimate UFC bout.
After over a year out, Rousey then made her return at UFC 207 against Amanda Nunes, but was knocked out in under one minute.
In an emotional interview, Rousey once fought back tears recalling the 48-second KO loss, and hasn’t appeared for the company since.
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‘Rowdy’ uploaded training footage of her in the cage, leaving MMA fans excitedCredit: GettyWill Ronda Rousey return to UFC?
The former WWE star has suggested that concussions sustained from her UFC career will prevent her from making a return.
The women’s MMA pioneer revealed to talkSPORT that she hid several medical issues from the UFC during her tenure with the company as she feared she would be forced to retire.
She welcomed her second child to the world in January and hasn’t publicly responded to calls for a comeback since.