…and maybe a question or two. I must say rowdy Ronda is one of the most impressive lady judokas I’ve ever seen and in MMA, hot to boot. I feel like she’s overcome Judo’s biggest weakness and that’s the thick and bulky gi. Do you think women’s MMA is going to go more of grappling given their physique and strength:weight? Or is Ronda’s Olympic caliber training just and early “hump” for the relatively nascent event of women’s MMA?
Please tell me I’m not the only person to immediately think of this classic promoupon seeing this thread title.
No doubt that Rousey is talented - extremely so - and is the sole reason that Dana “The Baldfather” White opened up the UFC to women. That being said, she is a one trick pony.
All she has are flawless throws executed lightening fast and an incredible armbar. It wil not be long before someone “solves the riddle”.
This can be seen in Rousey’s latest title defense. I don’t think Rousey won so much as Meisha Tate lost. Tate had a lot of success standing up and hurt Rousey a number of times but for some reason chose to close and clinch rather than maintain distance and snipe. This, predictably, resulted in Tate being masterfully flung to the mat.
What is telling though is how often Tate got out of trouble and back to her feet. Tate took Rousey into round 3 (all of her other opponents lost at about 1 minute of round 1).
Once Rousey goes up against someone who can defend the take downs she will be in trouble. Sara McMann should be a good test as she is an Olympic medallist in wrestling.
There is a good reason that “Rowdy” dodged Cyborg Santos - good takedown defense and destructive striking (watch the fight where she retired Gina “Conviction” Carrano for an illustration).
The gi is the opposite of a weakness - it is a major advantage. It allows for tighter chokes (some chokes are impossible without the gi). It also serves as a towel of sorts by soaking up the sweat and blood that make opponents slick and harder to submit.
Are you the only one who read about an accomplished female athlete in a real sport and immediately thought of a pretty boy actor bloviating in that paean to homoeroticism the WWE? I can only hope so :smack:
[QUOTE=the_diego;16969048…Do you think women’s MMA is going to go more of grappling given their physique and strength:weight? Or is Ronda’s Olympic caliber training just and early “hump” for the relatively nascent event of women’s MMA?[/QUOTE]
Sorry all for the double post but I forgot to address this part.
No, I think women’s MMA is going to go exactly the same way men’s MMA has gone. Well rounded athletes who are competent in all areas but especially proficient in one or two.
Look at team Alpha Male (Faber, Mendes et al) they are exceptional wrestlers and wrestling (grappling) was their bread and butter. Now that they have Duanne Ludwig as a coach they are becoming dangerous strikers but wrestling is still the base.
Rousey is just like Silva, Machida, GSP in that she has a style which coupled with her athleticism is currently confounding her opponents. This will not last forever but until someone figures out the secret she will appear invincible.
Two irrelevant but hyper-cool KO clips
Quoth the Rogan “He do right is no defend”
Flick
Can’t wait till someone figures out the riddle and brings that one trick pony down.
Did she really dodge Cyborg with all the trash talk, or is this a fight that can possibly take place?
How I wish “The Conviction” would restart her career.
I’m thinking McMunn has a pretty good shot. I’m not sure about Zingano - I’ll have to refresh my memory.
Yeah I think she dodged Cyborg. She could destroy Rousey on the feet and she’s also a legitimate BJJ ]black belt so takedown defense and ground defense are 2nd nature to her.
Santos also has to cut whacks o’ weight to get down to 145 - I’d guess she walks around at 165 or so - so insisting she fight at 135 would be crippling. There is no way that Rousey is smaller framed than Carrano and she fought at 145 no prob.
The fact that “Rowdy” wouldn’t even fight at catchweight is telling to me (no title on the line, just bragging rights).
Carrano figured out somewhere between 0:01 and 4:59 of her beating at Cyborg’s hands that: a) the quality of competition had outstripped her and b) that movies offered more money with less chance of messing up her face. She’ll never come back and if she did it would be embarrassing.
Though for pure cheesecake value Rousey vs Carrano = nom nom nom 
Have to agree with you there. It would be an embarrassment.
Look, I am a straight female, but the idea of seeing Cheesecake Conviction Carrano come back to life
Curls my toes and sends my eyes rolling back in excitement.
You know, despite the cheesecake comment" women’s MMA does nothing for me in that way. I mean you’d think that combining scantily clad women and fighting would be a slam-dunk but it isn’t.
Before the women were at the level they are now - I’d say pretty much on par with the men - I couldn’t get past what shitty fighters they were. Now I’m so busy watching the fight develop that I don’t notice the gender at all.
This is not to say that I don’t appreciate their rounder qualities outside the fight - Carano, Rousey, Waterson in bikini’s or less are hot - during the fight they may as well be “Bigfoot” Silva or Ken Shamrock* ← chosen as examples purely for the ugh factor.
Being a fight fan can be cruel sometimes 
*Though watching Tito smash him repeatedly and watching Gracie make him beg were, to be fair, beautiful.
We just need a woman with good arm bar defense and a great jab.
I don’t think armbar defense matters much. Everybody knows what she’s going to do and they train for it - but she’s so good that she can come from angles and positions you don’t see coming. And she’s stupid fast at getting it and locking it in.
A good jab would help but I think destructive leg kicks (slow her down and remove the base for her throws) and relentless striking will beat her if coupled with takedown defense.
Tate had her worried.
I think McMunn will lose their first fight but it will be tight and she will win the immediately forthcoming rematch and rubber.
Maybe, but it seems to me the most underused offense in MMA is a great jab. Jab jab retreat, commonly called a “runner” is hard to beat. They do damage but do not engage, leaving them ahead on points if the fight goes to a decision. MMA fighters that do this tend to get booed a lot. A takedown defense IS a good armbar defense.
I agree that the jab is underused as a whole, but in this case I don’t think relying on it would be god strategy unless the reach difference was substantial and in favour of Rousey’s opponent.
The reason I say this is that Rousey is so fast and precise with her throws that being in jabbing range would be dangerous.
Leg kicks have the same effect as a jab (though to a different target) but allow the kicker to maintain distance. Although there is a risk of having the kick caught and being tripped or swept.
As a judoka myself, I know my real nemesis on all fours: free-style wrestling. If the wrestler is smart enough to avoid my naked and triangular chokes, I’d rather try my luck standing up.
McMunn has the credentials to provide a problem for Roussey but as I’ve said I don’t see it being on the ground.
You know going in that she’s looking for an arm. Wrestlers simply don’t train to avoid that. Avoiding the RNC should largely be second nature because avoiding giving up your back and recovering if you do are integral to the sport. A triangle may be trickier for a wrestler to dodge just because it is alien to their sport.
I still maintain that McMunn’s best chance is to use her wrestling to keep it on the feet and blast away at Roussey’s legs interspersed with punching her in the face.
Two areas in which Roussey is pretty much unknown are her chin and her cardio. No one has ever tested either.
Blast her in the head a few times to see if she “likes getting hit” and drag her into the later rounds by staying upright. See if she starts to fade in the 3rd, 4th or 5th.
Of course I don’t fight or train so I’m speaking only as a long time fan (ie talking out of my ass) so YMMV.
Zeke