A Case For Ronda Rousey Being UFC Number One Pound For Pound

ronda rousey case for number one 2015

ronda rousey case for number one 2015

As I type this, the lovely and dangerous Ronda Rousey sits at number six on the official UFC pound for pound rankings. While she is miles ahead of any other female on the pound for pound list, there is a case to be made for her being higher. I can make a case for her being at the top of the list in fact.

Rousey is such a big name in the world of MMA that there is no way she could be left off the best in any class list. Anyone who can’t see past the fact that she wears a sports bra into the octagon doesn’t need to be involved with the ranking system anyway. Does her hotness play a role in her notoriety? Stupid question. Of course it matters that she looks how she looks, but if she wasn’t a dominant force in these fights she would have faded into the background by now. Sports Illustrated swimsuit model or not she had to win over critics with her talents inside a freaking cage.

My reasoning for Rousey being deserving of the top spot on the PFP fighter list is broken down in a simple top ten list. Feel free to disagree. Just realize that we are talking minor differences from number six to number one. The top ten fighters on the PFP list are the most fearsome unarmed fighters among the seven billion people alive today. Just being on the list is quite an accomplishment for the Rowdy One.

ronda rousey ufc star 2015 for wrestlemania

  1. I love Cain Velasquez, and he is a freak of nature. Put his skill set against most of the guys on the pound for pound list and he loses two out of three fights against the same guy…or girl.
  2. Jon Jones is a crazy talent and the true evolution of a UFC fighter. He may go on to be better historically than even Anderson Silva. That is in the future, not now. He may well get knocked cold by Rumble Johnson and was pushed to the limit by Alexander Gustafsson. We don’t know Rousey’s limit because no one has been able to push her anywhere close.
  3. I’m a big Chris Weidman guy and appreciate what he has done in his time in the UFC. He has a hell of a win streak going. Rousey has been much more dominant than him however, even though he defeated a living legend in Anderson Silva twice. Machida gave Weidman a war, while Rousey has put down opponents long before a battle could turn into a war.
  4. There is a strong possibility that Jose Aldo will lose his belt to Conor McGregor. I don’t know that will happen, but I know that no one is giving even odds on any Rousey fight.
  5. Rousey’s confidence level matches her skill level. She is a professional fighter with a clear focus. She dabbles in acting and that is her future career, but pound for pound she is the most driven mixed martial artist in the UFC.
  6. Rousey’s ground game is as good as any man in the UFC. Her opponents have zero control over her when they go to the mat. Her flexibility and sheer talent make grappling with her a nightmare for anyone that goes to the ground with her. Put her on the mat with any of the guys ahead of her on the PFP list (making strength equal in a pound for pound vacuum) and she twists them like a pretzel, except maybe Demetrious Johnson because of his unearthly quickness.
  7. Some fans say Rousey wouldn’t be so dominant if her competition was better. That is a flawed theory. So she just happens to be the only woman in the world that is just decent at fighting and the hundreds of other female fighters are just bums? It’s ridiculous. She just makes other quality fighters look like bums because she is so skilled. Her opponents are not up to her. She knocks down whoever steps forward.
  8. She has been faulted for relying too much on her favorite move, the arm bar. But that move is better than any other fighter’s go to move. It’s like she has an illegal weapon in the octagon with her and can use it whenever the need arises. No guy has perfected a finishing move like Rousey’s armbar.
  9. Her last three victories have taken less time on average than her stone cold walk to the octagon. Three wins that took a total of one minute and 36 seconds. What other guy on the PFP fighter list can boast anything close to that dominance?
  10. No one has had her in trouble in any fight. Meisha Tate did well to get to the third round in their second battle. Rousey was never in danger in that fight however and Tate was quick to admit she was dead by tapping as soon as the armbar was applied.