Ronda Rousey was always headstrong when it came to getting what she wanted. She had to go through a lot as a rising judoka. Things were difficult for her even when she went for the world championships. The US Judo association’s treatment of their athletes had always disappointed Rousey. In an incident that she recounted from the 2007 world championships, ‘Rowdy’ remembers how a day she started on a high note went worse and she had to do some dangerous things to make weight.

In 2007, the world championships were held in Rio, Brazil. The boarding facilities provided did not impress Rousey‘s teammates much. She, however, was focused on her task and woke up all charged up to go for her weigh-ins. As she was moving out of the hotel, she got a piece of information that made things difficult for her suddenly.

Ronda Rousey was in danger of missing weight

The future UFC champ was about to step out of her hotel when a teammate told her that another athlete had been stabbed a day before while he went out for a run. She also told Rousey how the scales being used in the tournament for weigh-ins were giving a different reading from US team’s weighing scales. This meant that Rousey was a pound heavier and was left with only a few hours to make weight. In an effort to lose weight, she ran in plastic sheets to sweat off the excess weight. Plastic sheets don’t let the sweat evaporate, keeping it warmer. To add to her troubles, she had to run on the same road where an athlete had been stabbed the previous day.

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In her memoir, “My Fight/ Your Fight, Ronda Rousey remembered the day. She wrote.” It was September in Rio, and the sun was already beating down. Sweat dripped down my face. I could feel the hot condensation building up on my skin inside my plastics. I was running fast, when it dawned on me this was the exact stretch of road where the sixty-six kilo guy had been stabbed the night before. If anyone tries to stab me today, they are gonna die, I thought. I was not in the mood to take shit from anyone.

Rousey won a medal

Despite the many challenges she faced trying to make weight in time, Ronda Rousey was finally able to make weight. She won her initial round easily against a Japanese athlete. To watch her opponents have better equipment and gear only made ‘Rowdy’ angrier. She kept going until she reached the semi-finals where she had to face her nemesis, Edith Bosch, from the Netherlands. Bosch was taller and stronger than Rousey.

To add to the challenge, Bosch didn’t believe in playing fair. The fight started and Bosch dislocated ‘Rowdy’s elbow. Despite the pain, Rousey went on and pulled off a win in the dying moment of the fight. This made the stadium erupt in appreciation for her. Rousey remembers the time for the appreciation and cheering she got in any fight. She went on to win a medal in the finals.

Watch This Story: USA Judo ran out of money as Ronda Rousey unexpectedly broke their corrupt system during her Rookie Days