Hard to believe, but even though she can knock out her opponent in less time than an Instagram video, some people actually have the gall to call Ronda Rousey fat. But that's exactly what the U.F.C. champion said has often happened to her. It seems that despite all her achievements in martial arts and sports, some are still hung over the fact that Rousey is not a typical cover girl model.
Standing at 5 foot 7, with her weight fluctuating anywhere between 135 and 158 pounds depending on her training regimen for the season, Rousey shared in a revealing interview with The New York Times that although she is comfortable in her skin now, that was not always the case.
Rousey said that as she was going through her teen years, she was conscious of her big, muscular arms – a side effect from all the hours she spent training in Judo. She would wear long-sleeved zip-up hoodies to hide her body even in 90-degree heat.
But even with her conflicted self-esteem due to her body growing up may have made her shy away, all her time dedicated to training paid off. She became the first American woman to win an Olympic bronze medal in Judo in Beijing, and broke down the gender-barrier of the UFC, even when president Dana White proclaimed he would never allow a woman fighter into the organization.
Quite recently, Rousey also shared, she was criticized for her weight and called fat, when she was at a fitting for a commercial she was to shoot. But rather than let that comment affect her confidence, she decided to show up to the filming of the ad campaign packing on more pounds than normal - just to prove her point that her size does not matter.
Although she did not disclose which commercial she was talking about, she said it was a huge success despite the extra weight.
No question, Ronda Rousey rules the fight in a ring. But her latest, real life battle is the body image that women are subjected to in the media. This fight, she says, is her biggest continuing challenge. One that, like all her other fights, she will not back down from.
"I swear to God if anyone calls me fat one more time in my life, I'm going to kill them." she said in the interview.
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