It’s been a decade since Ronda Rousey was a UFC champion and almost as long since her last MMA fight. It’s been eight years since her debut at Wrestlemania.
“She is the baddest woman on the planet,’’ said Kurt Angle, who teamed with Rousey at Wrestlemania in 2018 when they beat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
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Instead of between the ropes, Rousey, 39, will head back inside the cage when she fights Gina Carano, 44, on May 16 at the Inuit Dome in Inglewood. The bout, scheduled for five rounds, will be the main event on a card to be streamed by Netflix.
“And hopefully she wins the fight,’’ Angle said of Rousey during an interview with USA TODAY Sports. “That would be a big bonus. But I don’t think it really matters. I think that her legendary status will always be there regardless of whether she wins or loses this fight.’’
While Angle won an Olympic gold medal in 1996 in freestyle wrestling, Rousey won an Olympic bronze in judo in 2008. Their paths diverged from there.
Angle became a legendary pro wrestler. Rousey took up MMA and broke through with the UFC.
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“She actually made the UFC, the women’s division, legitimate,’’ Angle said. “She was the first one. She was the pioneer and she made it that (UFC CEO) Dana White had to start marketing women.
“She’s just an amazing athlete. And she really impresses me in everything that she does. And I’m just really happy for her that she’s able to have this fight with Gina.’’
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ronda Rousey is ‘baddest woman on the planet,’ says WWE icon
