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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 07: Serena Williams of the United States reacts during her Women’s Singles final match against Bianca Andreescu of Canada on day thirteen of the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 07, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 07: Serena Williams of the United States reacts during her Women’s Singles final match against Bianca Andreescu of Canada on day thirteen of the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 07, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Ronda Rousey and Serena Williams competed in completely different sports. While Rousey was an MMA world champion, Williams was ruling the Grand Slams in tennis. Even though ‘Rowdy Ronda’ competed only twice or a maximum of 3-4 times a year, she made an enormous impact on MMA.
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The then women’s bantamweight champion was given the honor of ‘best female athlete’ in 2015. She claimed the win over the likes of Lindsey Vonn, Breanna Stewart, and Serena Williams. But many had Williams winning the award. So, did the right athlete get the award?
The Olympian Judoka had an astonishing year and created history with back-to-back record-setting wins. Rousey defended her title twice, spending a combined 30 seconds within the octagon.
Williams had to stay content with the ‘best female tennis player’ honor at the 2015 ESPY Awards. However, fans were not happy with the results as ‘Meka’ was undefeated in the Grand Slams- she won the 2014 US Open, and claimed the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon Championship in 2015.
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ISTANBUL, TURKEY – OCTOBER 23: Serena Williams of the United States walks out to face Angieszka Radwanska of Poland during day two of the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships at the Sinan Erdem Dome October 23, 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Rousey had also won the best fighter of the year award. ‘The Arm Collector’ left behind Floyd Mayweather, Terence Crawford, Gennady Golovkin, and Donald Cerrone for the honor.
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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)
The former UFC champion had also made a few comments about Floyd Mayweather after her win.
The sports world was not happy with Ronda Rousey winning over Serena Williams
Even though Rousey got the nod in the voting list, the decision didn’t make fans happy. Since ‘ReRe‘ had a dominating phase during the ESPYs time period, fans dismissed the decision.
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While Williams won four Grand Slams with a 28-0 win-loss record, Rousey required just a combined half a minute to finish two championship contenders. Although both sports shouldn’t be compared on paper, many believed Williams was the more deserving of the two.
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PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 06: Serena Williams of the United States looks to the skies after missing a shot against Elena Rybakina of Russia in the fourth round of the women’s singles at Roland Garros on June 06, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by TPN/Getty Images)
Now, Rousey, who has retired from MMA, plies her trade in the WWE; Serena Williams is all set to move on from her primary sport as well. She recently announced plans for her retirement, with the upcoming U.S. Open being her last tournament.
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What do you make of the 2015 ESPY Awards? Should Serena Williams have won? Share your views in the comments section.
Written by
Edited by
Reubyn Coutinho