In this Dec. 28, 2013, file photo, Ronda Rousey, left, of Venice, Calif., punches Miesha Tate of Yakima, Wash., during a UFC 168 mixed martial arts women's bantamweight title fight. Photo / AP.
UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is one of the most dominant titleholders in MMA. Rousey (10-0) will defend her crown against Cat Zingano (9-0) in the main event of UFC 184 in Los Angeles tomorrow. Rousey, an Olympic bronze medallist in judo in 2008 and cast member of 'The
Expendables 3', sparred three verbal rounds with Daniel Richardson.
DR: Can you tell us about what some of the biggest misconceptions are around women's MMA?
RR: That the kind of woman that's a fighter is a specific kind of woman. I think every girl in the UFC or MMA comes from a completely different place and fights for a completely different reason and is a completely different person. There is no stereotype of the girl fighter. There's every single type of woman fighter and I think that's one of the biggest misconceptions, that they're all these grizzled and gruff chicks. But some of them are mums, some of them are nurses and some of them are grizzled and gruff chicks. Every single type of girl fights for their own reasons.
DR: You're friendly and chatty [speaking to the media] but when you walk out to the cage you've got one of the most stern looks in the UFC, what do you do to flick that switch?
RR: It started when I was a kid, with my mum, when I was at a judo tournament. Instead of letting me play around with all the other kids -- a lot of the kids I would be fighting would sit under the table playing little hand games and stuff like that -- my mum would be grabbing me and pulling me away from the kids to sit me down in the corner and be like: 'Sit there and think about winning'. It was either that or sleep. She would make me sleep in between fights. I would not be able to joke around. I would have to focus and I just got taught when it's time to focus, it's time to focus.
