Ronda Rousey will surely go down as one of the greatest female fighters in the history books of MMA. The female wrestler had a dominant reign in the sport for around five years. Her stint in the UFC made ‘Rowdy’ a global star. Thus, it was quite obvious that the Judoka collaborated with other sports stars, too.

The Olympic medalist was one of the pioneers of female MMA. Therefore, she received praise from other renowned athletes, too. One of them was the NBA legend, Shaquille O’Neal.

When ‘Rowdy’ was at the peak of her fighting career, she was invited to numerous talk shows. During one such appearance at the ‘Live! with Kelly and Michael’ in 2015. Rousey met the basketball great backstage. The duo clicked a picture and later Shaq posted it on Facebook with the caption, “Ran into “The Champ” Ronda Rousey #UFC”

Interestingly, the duo had a history before they met at the show. ‘Shaq’ is a huge fan of MMA. He has talked highly about the former UFC champion several times in his media appearances.

The NBA star has even claimed to survive more than 45 seconds inside the cage against the female fighter. ‘Rowdy’ has won most of her fights in the first round, two of her wins came in a combined 30 seconds mark. Therefore, ‘Shaq’ made that statement.

However, Rousey was all cool about it and gave a sharp response to his claims. “Yeah, you know if a chick could last past 45 seconds, I don’t see why Shaq couldn’t.”

Things eventually changed for Ronda Rousey after UFC 193 in 2015

‘Rowdy’ enjoyed a lot of fame during her reign in the bantamweight division of UFC from 2013 to 2015. However, it didn’t last long for the American wrestler.

At UFC 193, on November 14, 2015, at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium, Rousey suffered her first ever MMA setback against former boxing champion Holly Holm. It was a huge loss for the fighter, who looked invincible for years.

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However, still being in her prime, Rousey was believed to bounce back into the win column in her next bout. Unfortunately, she faced the same fate at UFC 205 the next year. This time at the hands of Amanda Nunes.

ALSO READ: When “Feminine” Ronda Rousey Made the Prestigious Time’s List Alongside Dwayne Johnson & Stephen Curry

These two losses had a heavy toll on the former champion. Consequently, she retired from the sport forever. Nevertheless, ‘Rowdy’ became the first ever female fighter to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, because of her huge part in the sport.

What are your thoughts on Rousey’s losses? What do you guys think about the old picture of Rousey with ‘Shaq’? Let us know in the comments section below.

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