Ronda Rousey didn’t just compete in women’s MMA; she built the house that many female fighters now live in.. Her contributions become even more significant considering Dana White was once reluctant about women’s cage fighting, until a single meeting changed his stance. After that, ‘Rowdy’ turned herself into an MMA icon through her illustrious UFC career. Now, nearly nine years since her last UFC fight, she is set to make a comeback on MVP’s Netflix card on May 16. 

And before stepping into the cage, Rousey shared some career lessons for aspiring female athletes, revealing that, beyond winning, the media plays a crucial role in building a solid career.

“I think a lot of them (female fighters) need to realize that just going in and fighting isn’t the whole job and putting a lot of thought into media and stuff like this, and being able to get your message across, because your job isn’t just to win fights, it’s to get people to watch your fights,” Rousey said during a recent Netflix press conference.

“It’s awesome if people are watching the brand and then they see your fight while it’s there, but I think it’s important for all the women to kind of learn from this and from what me and Gina Carano are doing and what we’ve done in the past. We don’t just show up and fight. It’s storytelling. I put a lot of thought into anything that could be asked of me.”

“I think a lot of girls now are just going to do media and they’re just winging it. And it shows. You need to put just as much effort into promotion as you do into fighting if you want anyone to watch your awesome fight.”

Well, Rousey etched her name in the UFC history books with her dominant stint as the women’s bantamweight champion. From 2013 to 2015, she defended the 135 lbs title six times, often finishing her fights in the first round with devastating armbar submissions. However, it’s not only her dominance inside the cage that defines her MMA career. Rousey’s media presence, combined with her blunt and straightforward persona, also propelled her to stardom.

For those who don’t know, Ronda Rousey became one of the few women from the UFC to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated, sharing that spotlight with legends like Muhammad Ali and Conor McGregor. That alone shows how much her media presence contributed to building her legacy. Because of her impact on the sport, other female UFC champions such as Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Zhang Weili have called ‘Rowdy’ their inspiration to pursue MMA.

Now, after nearly a decade away from the sport, Ronda Rousey continues to motivate women athletes to step into MMA. Even Jake Paul appears to draw inspiration from her journey. 

Jake Paul got inspired by Ronda Rousey to invest in women’s boxing

For a while, ‘El Gallo’ has been putting his best efforts into promoting women’s boxing. He signed marquee boxers like Amanda Serrano and Alycia Baumgardner to Most Valuable Promotions to create a strong roster. But after former UFC champ Ronda Rousey became the latest addition to his squad, Paul’s MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian claims the YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul became even more motivated to push women’s boxing further.

“Look, when we started MVP, we had three core priorities,” Bidarian told talkSPORT. “One was to be fighter-first, which we’re very proud of. Everything we do puts the fighters first. Two was to give young boxers and boxing fans a product. And three was to focus on women’s boxing. So, this is not by accident. It’s been a main focus of ours since we started the company in August of 2021.”

At this point, Rousey has been promoting her fight against Gina Carano for May 16, which is getting massive attention. She even went scorched earth on her former home, the UFC, calling out their fighter pay structure. So, ‘Rowdy’ is again using her media experience to generate buzz for the event, which in turn would bring more eyes to her latest outing.

That said, what do you make of Ronda Rousey’s advice for women’s MMA?