It hasn’t always been a cakewalk for Ronda Rousey.
Rousey’s last four title defenses have lasted a combined 2 minutes and 10 seconds. Her first UFC fight against Liz Carmouche proved difficult, though, as Rousey’s opponent inflicted serious damage before the women’s bantamweight champion locked in an arm bar and scored a victory.
“I dislocated my jaw, broke my sinuses, was coughing,” Rousey recently told the Los Angeles Times. “When her hand went across my jaw, my mouth was ripped open. That’s the only fight I got a bruise in.”
Carmouche clearly rocked Rousey, whose record now stands at 12-0. But don’t be confused. According to Rousey, throwing in the towel simply wasn’t an option.
“The worse-case scenario is you break your neck, and my neck was past the place where it shouldn’t have gone,” Rousey, whose years of judo work weakened her neck, told the L.A. Times. “It was in that moment I realized I was willing to die to win this fight. I was willing to be a quadriplegic to win that fight. It was that important to me. I didn’t care. The thought of giving up never happened. You have to want it more than the other person.”
Rousey’s next fight against Miesha Tate lasted three rounds before the defending champ earned a submission win. She’s been on a complete tear ever since, taking down every woman in her path.
Will Holly Holm finally stop Rousey on Nov. 14 in Melbourne, Australia? Maybe not unless she kills the MMA superstar.
Click for Ronda Rousey’s top five fights >>
Thumbnail photo via Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports Images
