Ronda Rousey, Fueled by Hemp Seeds, May be the Greatest MMA Fighter of All-Time

   
| August 2, 2015 6:57 pm | 3 comments

Update: Ronda Rousey to star in a movie based off of her autobiography. 

As I blogged previously, UFC mma champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey is a dedicated fighter who eats the same thing nearly every morning: a breakfast of champions that includes two tablespoons of hemp seeds. Rousey’s dedication continues beyond her breakfast routine into her training and the lack of distractions she allows to interfere with her goals in life. Rowdy would like to retire undefeated and presumably continue onto a career in Hollywood and even publishing more books. I wouldn’t be surprised if she opens up her own gym someday to pass on lessons she has learned from her judo-champion mother and stable of coaches. Now that the UFC’s women’s bantamweight has dispatched 12 challengers that have failed to go the distance with her, it is time to consider the fact that Ronda Rousey, fueled by hemp seeds, may be the greatest mma fighter in history.

Kevin Iole, writing for Yahoo Sports, agrees that it is time that Rousey join the discussion along with heavyweight great Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko, Jon “Bones” Jones and Anderson “The Spider” Silva:

When you assess Rousey against the greatest who’ve ever lived in her sport, she is more than competitive by just about any measure.

She’s probably the best grappler and the best athlete. Her striking isn’t as good as her grappling, but Silva’s grappling, for example, wasn’t nearly as good as his striking.

Since she’s in the middle of her dominance, it’s best to assess her against the most dominant eras of Emelianenko, Silva and Jones in their prime. Again, she comes out favorably by comparison.

Iole notes that gender and the lack of elite competition are the only two knocks on Rousey’s claim to greatest of all time status. I would argue that her gender and competition are two things out of her control, she can only do her best against the competition put in front of her. Lack of elite competition also plagued the young Mike Tyson who lacked the same caliber of challengers that a young Muhammad Ali faced. However, it isn’t like the non-elite competition has challenged Rousey at all, with her last three challengers unable to last 35 seconds in the Octagon with her. 35 seconds! Of course, she can’t help that she was born a woman, but she trains against men and there is plenty of evidence that she more than holds her own against men similar in size to her and UFC interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor stated that Rousey “would throw me on my head in one second flat.”

I do think that UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, who defeated Anderson Silva twice, may have a claim to rival Rousey’s if he manages to stay undefeated as well, but Rousey definitely deserves consideration as the GOAT. And yes, I may be admittedly a little biased because Rousey has publicly stated that she eats hemp seeds nearly every morning and she lambasted UFC fighter Bryan Caraway for insulting fellow fighter Pat Healy when Healy lost his fight bonuses after testing positive for THC metabolites. However, despite my biases, if Ronda Rousey keeps dispatching challengers like she did contender Bethe Correia, Rousey will have to go down as the greatest fighter of all time, regardless of her competition or gender.

Hemp, it is the breakfast of champions and it does the body good! (Photo credit: Getty Images)

 

Anthony, a longtime cannabis law reform advocate, was Chief Petitioner and co-author of Measure 91, Oregon's cannabis legalization effort. He served as director of both the New Approach Oregon and Vote Yes on 91 PACs, the political action committees responsible for the state's legalization campaign. As director of New Approach Oregon, Anthony continues to work towards effectively implementing the cannabis legalization system while protecting small business owners and the rights of patients. He sits on the Oregon Marijuana Rules Advisory Committee and fights for sensible rules at the legislature as well as city councils and county commissions across the state. Anthony helps cannabis business comply with Oregon's laws and advises advocates across the country. He also serves as content director of both the International Cannabis Business Conference and the Oregon Marijuana Business Conference, helping share the vision of moving the cannabis industry forward in a way that maintains the focus on keeping people out of prison and protecting patients. He was a member of the Oregon Health Authority Rules Advisory Committee, assisting the drafting of the administrative rules governing Oregon’s state-licensed medical marijuana facilities. He first co-authored and helped pass successful marijuana law reform measures while a law student at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. He passed the Oregon Bar in 2005 and practiced criminal defense for two years before transitioning to working full-time in the political advocacy realm. His blogs on Marijuana Politics are personal in nature and don't speak for or reflect the opinions of any group or organization.