Ronda Rousey and Her ‘Tough’ Mother Bought Deceased MMA Legend an Unusual Gift on His 80th Birthday

Ronda Rousey is known for her ruthless streak in the world of combat sports. She has always spoken highly of those who paved the way for her MMA career. Gene LeBell, who recently passed away, was one of Rousey’s initial trainers. Rousey once gave the MMA legend a stopwatch on his birthday and we now know the story behind this unique gift.

“Judo”Gene LeBell was an American martial arts athlete who had successful stints as a professional wrestler and actor. He was one of America’s first martial artists who trained in MMA.

LeBell also trained Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and Roddy Piper, among many others in mixed martial arts. He also trained AnnMaria De Mars, Ronda Rousey’s mother.

Why did Ronda Rousey gift LeBell a stopwatch?

Ronda Rousey was one of Gene LeBell’s students following in the footsteps of her mother. In fact, it was LeBell who convinced the former UFC Champion’s mother to let her pursue a car in MMA.

After UFC signed Rousey, LeBell used to be in her corner, using a stopwatch to record her first round finishes.

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“The Rowdy One” also got a tattoo of her winning fight times kept by the LeBell on her right wrist, to show how much he mattered to her.

Rousey said, “I got a tattoo of how many seconds it took me to win all my (MMA) matches. My first match, the official time, and his time differed by two seconds, and I was like (expletive) the official time, Gene’s time is what matters, so I tattooed his time.” 

This led to the UFC Hall of Famer and her mother gifting LeBell with a stopwatch on his 80th birthday in 2012.

LeBell predicted Rousey’s rise even before her UFC debut.  “She gets in that ring, and she owns it mentally,” said LeBell, then 78,“She says, ‘This is my house. This is my bedroom, my kitchen, my garage and my front room”.

Clearly, the legend had seen greatness brewing in his disciple early on which she would achieve later.

She would go onto achieve tremendous success in UFC. And now she has transitioned that greatness into her WWE career. Rousey has been the RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion, while she also won the Royal Rumble match earlier this year.

LeBell helped Rousey get the “Rowdy” nickname

While Gene LeBell helped Rousey in her MMA career, he was also responsible for her securing the “Rowdy” nickname that belonged to one of LeBell’s former student, Roddy Piper.

“He told Rowdy Piper that he would stretch him if he didn’t let me use it,” Rousey said.

This was one of the incidents of LeBell going the extra mile for those under his tutelage.

Ronda Rousey’s stopwatch gesture must have meant a lot to a legend like Gene LeBell, who proudly flaunted the gift to show his love for the ‘Baddest Woman on the Planet’.

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