Is Ronda Rousey becoming the Tiger Woods of MMA?

[BPA00]

There are 10's of millions of golf players and the game has been around for more than a century... Tiger's accomplishment of being one of, if not the best golf player of all time is 1000x times more impressive than Ronda's domination of a tiny talent pool of over-matched girls in a brand new (by comparison) sport.

 

[loisestrad]

There are 10's of millions of golf players and the game has been around for more than a century... Tiger's accomplishment of being one of, if not the best golf player of all time is 1000x times more impressive than Ronda's domination of a tiny talent pool of over-matched girls in a brand new (by comparison) sport.

It's just that that wasn't what the OP was about, at all.

 

[Byron Pechorin]

She is the face of MMA in general.

 

[Pride4life]

I don't think so..

 

[loisestrad]

Just seen Ronda is the 8th highest paid female athlete right behind Simona Halep. Wonder how sherdoggers have heard of Simona halep lol.

Did you miss a "many", and intend to say "how many sherdoggers have heard of Simona Halep" or was it intended as written? Honest question.

 

[loisestrad]

This is going to sound sexist, but no woman will ever transcend any sport. Cause they simply are not the best at what they do. Sure, ronda is the best in women's fighting, but the men are the only ones who can transcend the sport. Just like no WNBA star would ever transcent basketball. That can only happen with a male basket ball player. same goes for any and all sports.

A woman, in this case Ronda, can transcend the sport in several ways. One by making a predominantly male sport into a sport consisting of both genders being widely recognized and (to some extend) considered equal, or by simply becoming "bigger than the sport", as in "my fucking grandma knows Ronda".

You're wrong, i guess.

 

[Rob_M.]

More like the Bo Jackson, because she just knows.

 

[Hungry Friend]

I definitely think she will reach that level of fame, especially since there is literally no good competition left in her division so people will continue to watch her smack around in-shape cleaning ladies. Not to say it's her fault that her competition is shit, but the fact that Tate is getting a 3rd shot at her is all that needs to be said about the division. Miesha's a really tough chick though.

Ronda's a damn good athlete though and her killer instinct makes her fun as shit to watch. Her striking may still be sloppy but she really just needs to be good enough to defend herself before she gets the TD. Her rare speed/power combination partially makes up for her lack of technique as well.

 

[GranNaniwa]

It's good for both the UFC and Ronda...MMA has less to do with it. It's on the UFC to produce cards which retain the fans who are tuning in to see Ronda. By adding the women's divisions and giving talent a chance to grow, they're doing just that.

Will some people become disinterested if she isn't fighting? Of course-- that's part of the game. How many Irish fans suddenly took interest in MMA, when McGregor became a name? Conversely, how many Irish fans fly to Vegas for cards not headed by McGregor? Are we worried about Irish fan retention for non-Ireland cards, or once he exits? How many Canadian fans continue to watch Lawler fight? How many have stopped caring about MMA since GSP retired?

These are the questions nobody really cares about, and neither should we care when it comes to Ronda.


If her fans no longer care to watch MMA, that's on them. The hardcore fanbase won't change and the product will continue to adapt, as it always has. Any business which can't adjust to ups and downs, or spikes in appeal, will be doomed to fail. The UFC has shown that they can, and already have a diverse enough product in many ways.

Also, the UFC (and its hardcore fans, especially) are a company/group which has always lived in the moment. Their approach can be described as "what have you done for me, lately?". The simple fact is, when you have something good, you milk it, until it's no longer good. The money and exposure she brings to the UFC, now, is very real. The money she pockets is very real. What happens after that is not her concern, while the UFC will simply contract and push their next big star.

You make some good points and I agree that a large percentage of Conor fans will come and go but I don't think most of Ronda's new fans will ever actually order a PPV to begin with.
I live in Korea now and every man over 30 used to play basketball simply because of Jordan. Of course, this whole national obsession crashed after Jordan retired, but at least he got people interested in his sport. I know most of the girls making Ronda posts on my Facebook can only bear an MMA fight if it's 30 seconds long and they would definitely never sit through a whole PPV to watch her, let alone pay $60 for it.
She can be a good ambassador for the sport though. MMA needs someone like her to offset the wife beaters and the drug users that the media usually brings to the forefront.