Last weekend at UFC 225, the UFC made a huge announcement as they revealed the first-ever female fighter to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame would be the one and only, Ronda Rousey.
Hall of Fame worthy
A pioneer for professional women's MMA, Rousey is a more than deserving recipient of Hall of Fame honours, as she not only opened the door for herself, but for many other women after her in the sport of MMA.
While she is now working as a professional wrestler for the WWE and hasn't officially retired from the sport of MMA just yet, her accolades over an illustrious six-year MMA career are more than enough to warrant Hall of Fame status.
An Immense Honor
Rousey reacted to the news of her Hall of Fame induction on her Instagram account, describing it as 'an immense honor'
She said: “This is an immense honor, to not only take part in bringing women to the forefront of this sport, but now the Hall of Fame. May I be the first of many."
Rousey's MMA Career
A former Olympic bronze medalist, Rowdy was the first-ever female fighter to sign for UFC, and she was also the first-ever UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, a title she would hold for 1,074 days, successfully defending it on six occasions.
Rousey had a 12-0 undefeated professional MMA record, including 6-0 in UFC, before losing to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November 2015. She lost the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship on this night as well.
After a break from the sport of MMA, she attempted to win back the UFC Women's Bantamweight title against current champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. However, she instead suffered the second loss of her MMA career and she hasn't stepped foot in the Octagon since.
Now, she is enjoying life as a full-time performer in the WWE and has plans with her husband and UFC fighter Travis Browne to start a family one day.
While Rousey hasn’t officially retired from the world of MMA, the sporting icon has said she’s more likely to compete in the Olympics than ever return to the UFC, so one more fight inside the Octagon seems unlikely.