Rpusey Its Easy to Want to Be the Best Jn the Wld

John Locher/Associated Press

UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey doesn't mind ruffling a few feathers. In fact, she might like antagonizing the oppositionalmost as much as she likes making short work of them in the Octagon, often celebrating without regard for what people on soapboxes traditionally call "sportsmanship."

There's a reason Rousey makes her way through the crowd at events to the Joan Jet classic "Bad Reputation" (the latest in a series of intimidating song choices). It lets everyone on hand—and those watching via pay-per-view—know that this is a woman who's going to be as bad as she wants to be.

And don't let those good looks fool you, either; Rousey can and will be hot and bad. Measuring in at 5'7, 135 pounds, and sporting a head full of long, blonde hair, Rousey gets plenty of modeling work between training and fights. She's also been bitten by the acting bug, most recently appearing in a high-profile cameo in the Entourage movie.

Chris Hyde/Getty Images

She may not be the most popular figure in the male-dominated world of MMA, but Rousey is absolutely the biggest name—certainly among active fighters.

Tito Ortiz is long retired, despite recent plans for what will most likely be an unsuccessful comeback. Anderson Silva is suspended for steroids and is certifiably over the hill. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is currently entangled in a number of ugly legal matters, as is young MMA star Jon "Bones" Jones.

Like Floyd Mayweather and pro boxing, for many of the most casual fans of the sport, Rousey is simply the only name they know. Losing to Mayweather has become one of the best career moves for his challengers in recent years, because they reap the benefits of the undisputed champion's publicity and purse.

The best way for other MMA fighters to get their names in the headlines is to publicly challenge Rousey, even if the very idea of it is preposterous from a competitive standpoint, because linking their name to hers is almost guaranteed to be newsworthy (if not self-destructive).

It doesn't matter if Rousey actually fights these people or not. Just being associated with her buoys their own public profile. Rousey's celebrity has reached a point that publicity stunts are indistinguishable from genuine exchanges—she's got countless trolls on Twitter, washed-up celebrities and even male athletes challenging her these days.

And she's happy to oblige, because it means more PPV subscribers for her next fight.

Jon "Bones" Jones Steve Marcus/Getty Images

Most don't have a snowball's chance in hell against the undefeated UFC star, and they know it—the smart ones know enough not to poke the hornet's nest. While there are others who have no idea how they'd actually fare against Rousey, mostly because they're insane men who feel strangely compelled to beat up a woman before an international audience.

With seemingly every attention-starved female fighter in the business begging for a shot to take down Rousey—not to mention the droves of unqualified or inappropriate people out there wanting to do the same—the list as it stands today is worth a look.

We may even check in on a few random jabronis from Twitter and see whatthey think their chances are against Rousey.

UFC President Dana White with his No. 1 star Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

Cris "Cyborg" Santos

Let's start with the most timely and potentially competitive wannabe challenger, Cris "Cyborg" Santos. Santos, who effectively ended the MMA career of popular fighter Gina Carano in 2009, made easy work of the hyped Carano; beating her by TKO in the first round of a Strikeforce faceoff.

Cyborg ended her undefeated run of fights that August, and despite some buzz about a Carano comeback, she's yet to step back into the Octagon.

In January 2012, few were surprised when Santos tested positive for anabolic steroids and was stripped of her Strikeforce featherweight title as a result. Largely ostracized from the sport since then, Cyborg has been itching to make a comeback since passing a drug screening in February, clearing the way for a return to UFC.

She was 13-1 over the course of her 10-year career, with her only loss coming in her first fight in 2005. Naturally she has her sights set on Rousey, and many think Cyborg could be her first real threat.

Despite her three-year absence, Santos is only a year older than Rousey and is an inch taller and nine pounds heavier—maintaining fighting weight could obviously be an issue, but last March UFC President Dana White said he expects Cyborg to shed the excess weight.

Two months later, White guaranteed a fight between Rousey and Santos would bring in at least 2 million PPV buys. Despite the hype and talk so far, an actual fight is nothing but speculation—the only action right now and in the weeks to come is the increasingly heated insults between the two and Cyborg's weird, simmering feud with Rousey's mom.

White can guarantee anything he wants, but until these two are scheduled to headline a UFC event, it's nothing more than Mayweather-Pacquiao pre-2015, when two aging stars finally agreed on the most overhyped money grab of this century. Then again, White signed Santos to UFC in March, meaning we shouldn't have to wait six years for this one.

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Shaquille O'Neal

Actually, it's not fair to say that Cyborg would be Rousey's most legitimate challenger. Former NBA big man Shaquille O'Neal didn't give himself nearly enough credit when he proudly announced during an Inside the NBA broadcast in May that he would last at least 45 seconds in the Octagon with her.

The off-handed quip, which is one of those d'oh moments that make publicists slap their foreheads, was made in reference to a plot point in the Entourage movie, in which Jerry Ferrara, who played "Turtle," stopped by the set to promote it. Ferrara even copped to using a stunt double in the film, so he wouldn't be personally subjected to a beating.

Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

Surely Shaq thought he was just being funny, but not only did he leave himself wide open to a joke about sexual gravitas from his TNT-sponsored tormenter, Charles Barkley (which happened to be much funnier), he also joked on air about fighting a woman, which approaches one of the most delicate issues in sports, particularly over the last year.

Furthermore, of course, he could last more than 45 seconds in a fight against Rousey—he's 16 inches taller than her and has at least 200 pounds on her. At his size, Shaq should be able to hold his own against a monster truck for that long. He could probably hold off three Rouseys for a couple of rounds just by standing in a corner and holding his arms above his head—or falling on her...like a sequoia made of beef.

Miesha Tate

Rousey has already fought Miesha "Cupcake" Tate twice. She lost both fights by Rousey's infamous armbar submission, though, the second one(in 2013) was slightly more dignified, having gone three rounds.

Eighteen months before Tate managed to survive three rounds, Rousey took her down in the first, breaking her arm in the process. Despite the humbling result, the existing feud between the two intensified in the fall of 2013, when they were selected as opposing coaches onThe Ultimate Fighter.

At UFC 168 that December, it became clear just how hostile relations between the two had become, when Rousey refused Tate's handshake following her victory. Despite the histrionics, this rivalry has been largely one-sided; deciding who will emerge victorious depends on the criteria. If the criteria is winning in absolute fashion and then swatting her opponent off like the gnawing gnat she is, well then Rousey wins every time.

But Tate takes the (cup)cake in writing checks her butt can't cash and related general delusions of grandeur—which some could call "publicity stunts." Tate routinely engages in what has become a completely one-sided feud, fueled mostly by jealously and the misguided notion she's staked out the moral high ground in the battle.

In fact, in March she declared that if anyone is ever going to beat Rousey, "it's going to be [her]," per MMAFighting.com. Alrighty then, I guess we disagree on the definition of winning.

Tate may have won three straight against other opponents since her loss to Rousey in 2013, but what she said after their latest fight still holds true, "I have no excuses, she's the better fighter." And barring any chronic illness or serious injury leading to a permanent disability, she always will be. So just stop it.

Why does Quora exist? pic.twitter.com/PpC35DOZUW

— Jason M. (@JaJaJaJasonnnn) June 18, 2015

This Dude's Friend

This seems to be an increasingly common question asked by bros out there in the world. Bonus: Now we know what Quora is for—dummies, or dummy proxies, asking dumb questions to Internet strangers, who then either mock them mercilessly or offer an absurdly serious and excessive analysis of a question no one should ever take seriously.

Anyway. Back to this dude, who claims he has a beefy friend who partakes in the occasional street fight—don't we all? He doesn't say whether he wins said fights, and for all we know, he usually flees the scene, which could explain his running abilities. But it doesn't matter, and you don't need to crowd-source the right answer. It's hard to imagine 18 additional people cared enough to respond after the first answer was so spot-on.

Awww. She think she bad. Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images

Laila Ali

In March, for no particular reason, retired boxer Laila Ali, the daughter of the legendary Muhammad Ali, agreed to answer inane questions asked by TMZ Sports, whose cameramen accosted her as she exited her car in a parking garage. Instead of responding to the question "Would you be able to take Ronda Rousey?" with an appropriately exaggerated eye roll, Laila took the bait.

"No woman can beat me, period," Ali said, not even Rousey. "Of course not. She's too much smaller than me anyway. She's like the size of my daughter—my three-year-old." While she's not wrong about their size differential—Ali is two inches taller and at least 30 pounds heavier—it's not nearly large enough to overcome the differential in skill.

Even though Ali was just talking nonsense to a couple of strangers, within days, MMA fighter Randy Couture (19-11 career) stepped in to claim his share of that Rousey spotlight, publicly offering via TMZ Sports paparazzo (h/t the Washington Post) to train Ali if she really wanted to give it a go. She didn't take him up on the offer, but it was probably because she's too busy tending to her freakish, Rousey-sized toddler.

Harry How/Getty Images

Jesse Holley

Bethe "Pitbull" Carreia (I wonder if the moniker alludes to the dog breed or the recording artist—a detail that makes a huge difference) (9-0 career) is the next challenger to fight Rousey. And it's not a pretend-fight. They will be the headlining event in August at UFC 190, which will be held at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Correia doesn't show any signs of being afraid or even intimidated, but ask her again in two months.

Former Cowboys wide receiver Jesse Holley played 28 games over two seasons in the NFL before fading into oblivion or what should have been oblivion. Instead, Holley did a guest spot on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas (h/t TMZ Sports) to brag about how he could easily beat up a woman he outweighs by 100 pounds, as long as he had two months to train in advance.

Holley went on to explain he wouldn't even need to learn much to beat Rousey, just a few moves is all that's needed to most effectively beat up a woman—a woman who barely clears his nipples in height. Given their respective sizes, Holley probably could win a fight with Rousey, but I wouldn't bet against a bronze medal-winning judo expert.

And would it really feel like a win in the grand scheme of things? Maybe for Mr. Two-Seasons.

Handout/Getty Images

The five women listed below are all MMA fighters (some more accomplished than others), who range in age from 20 to 34 and who have said they're ready, willing and able to go toe-to-toe with Rousey. Three of them for the second time.

John Locher/Associated Press

Sarah Kaufman

In August 2012, Showtime aired Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman; the headlining event obviously being Rousey and Sarah Kaufman (17-3 career). Even if you missed it, you can probably make a solid educated guess about the outcome. Rousey won swiftly by armbar submission in just 54 seconds. In February, Kaufman told Fox Sports that a rematch with Rousey was her goal, while calling out Tate for being a coward.

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Liz Carmouche

Liz Carmouche (10-5 career) fought Rousey in UFC 157, the first women's MMA fight in the organization's history. To her credit, Carmouche hung around a longer than most of Rousey's opponents—few last even a minute—but eventually fell by...wait for it...armbar submission at 4:49 of the first round.

Just a few months later in July 2013, Carmuouche told MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani that she was just one win away from a rematch with Rousey, but two years later, she's still waiting.

Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press

Sara McMann

UFC 170 in February 2014 was headlined by Rousey and Sara McMann (8-2 career), both former Olympians. The fight lasted a cool 66 seconds before Rousey ended the action, but at least there was a twist—McMann went down after taking a knee to the body (see: liver), losing by TKO.

Six months later, McMann was already talking tough again, telling Fox Sports she was "chomping at the bit to fight her again." She added, "I don't even care if she loses a title fight, I will fight her." How charitable of her!

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

Jessica Eye

Jessica Eye (11-2 career) is scheduled to fight Tate in July, and has her eye (lol) on the prize. And no, the prize isn't beating Tate; it's the opportunity to fight Rousey, potentially at Madison Square Garden, according to an interview Eye did with John Morgan on The MMA Road Show (h/t MMAJunkie.com).

Eye told Submission Radio that UFC overlord White "pinkie promised" she'd get a run at Rousey, assuming she doesn't lose to Tate after publicly overlooking her. And considering she recently protested Rousey's inclusion in the UFC's "top three" pound-for-pound rankings to MMAFighting.com, there's a concern this one isn't keeping her eye (lol) on the ball.

Christian Palma/Associated Press

Holly Holm

A former boxing champion in multiple weight classes, 33-year-old Holly Holm (8-0 career) was one of the greatest in the world over the course of her career (33-2-3), during which she was named Ring Magazine's Fighter of the Year twice.

Holm is expected to face Rousey down the line, but White thinks she needs more MMA experience first. He's probably right, and Holm doesn't necessarily disagree. She doesn't engage in traditional trash-talk and has even complimented Rousey on a few occasions, but she says she'll be ready when her number gets called. We can all respect that.

Harry How/Getty Images

This Sassy Little One

Right now this little girl doesn't have a chance to take down the champ—you know Rousey would at least consider teaching a child a lesson. However, even a star like Rousey couldn't survive the fallout of putting a child in an armbar submission. That being said, maybe in 20 years Rousey will stage some sort of comeback attempt, and they can throw down. We'll just have to wait and see.

Charlotte Flair

It should come as no surprise that semi-retired, but rapidly aging, WWE personality Ric Flair has a flair(lol...help...) for attracting attention to himself—it's built right into the family name.

By virtue of adopting her father's fake last name, Charlotte Flair followed him into the family business. She currently has a development contract with WWE and is trying to work herself up to Diva. She's essentially Kelly Rowland trying to wrestle her way up to Beyonce.

Anyway. Back in April, WrestlingNews.com's Greg Beck (h/t MMANews.com) asked Daddy Flair was asked what he knew about MMA, and his response was basically, absolutely nothing.

The only fighters he could name were Brock Lesnar (heh) and Rousey, but that was more than enough knowledge of the sport for Flair to declare his darling daughter could absolutely hang with Rousey in the Octagon. He hedged his bets by saying she'd need a year of training and wouldn't necessarily win but that Charlotte would definitely, possibly, probably win if she set her mind to it.

Love my pink studio & my work outs @MissBoxer01! 👍😁💗💪 #ready #fitness #missboxer pic.twitter.com/I2awNDInB5

— Antonieta Osuna (@AntonietaOsuna) September 9, 2014

Antonieta Osuna

Think cheerleaders aren't athletes? Think again. Although the sexy sauntering seen at the pro level requires some serious dance skills, many of them have been cheering and dancing, often in a competitive setting, for years. Not that it makes them qualified to get into the Octagon with Rousey, even if the cheerleader has been boxing for years and claims to have won a Texas state boxing champion in 2005.

Which, not by coincidence, is exactly what Texans cheerleader Antonieta Osuna revealed in an interview with TMZ Sports (h/t ESPN.com). When inevitably asked about her chances at overthrowing the queen of MMA, Osuna showed some restraint. She did say, however, that she wouldn't be afraid to get in the ring with her and let the chips fall where they may. Osuna definitely gave herself a shot, though.

Hope you all are enjoying your #FCF #FallonCrushFriday ! Stay awesome #foxhounds ! :-) pic.twitter.com/o7PrPk7nj4

— Fallon Fox (@FallonFox) January 23, 2015

Fallon Fox

The fight between Rousey and transgendered fighter Fallon Fox dates back at least two years at this point. In fact, "fight" not be the most accurate term to describe an issue that they seem to have fundamental disagreements on. Fundamental generally means they don't change—they're at your core.

Well, the issue here is that Fallon has been trying to lure Rousey into the Octagon for years, who has refused to even entertain the notion because she believes that being transgendered gives Fallon an unfair competitive advantage. And "Rowdy" Ronda being Ronda, she didn't do much to soften the language of her message.

That initial beef goes back to April 2013, before it was reignited in September 2014. That's when Rousey argued to TMZ Sports that Fallon's  "bone structure" and/or hormonal…whatever…constitutes an unfair fight, statements Fallon laterFallon dismissed, per Bloody Elbow.

Eventually Rousey responded and said she really didn't care. She said that, although she believed Fallon would fight at a higher weight class, she wouldn't turn down the fight. "I can knock out anyone in the world," Rousey concluded.

Paul Kane/Getty Images

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

OK, first of all, that is not Rampage Jackson in the photo—so please, nobody freak out. It's actually the human equivalent of the sound party noisemakers and nails on a chalkboard make when put together, former MMA fighter Chael Sonnen (28-14, career).

Over the course of his career, Sonnen has hadway too much attention for a mediocre fighter whose career ended in July 2014 after it was revealed he'd been juicing. What would his record have been without cheating?

Sonnen has always been a trash-talker…a flame-thrower…a bad-mouthing clown, whose greatest ability has always been belittling and verbally abusing those around him. So wait, why are we talking about this guy? Well, back in November 2012, Sonnen was actually one of the first guys on the Rousey train, which he used to menace Jackson, a longtime foe.

When she first joined the UFC, Sonnen told TMZ (h/t New York Post) that Rousey was yet another UFC fighter Jackson couldn't beat. Being the smart woman she is, Rousey never engaged in Sonnen's nonsense. And that point, Rampage was probably just deaf to all that noise.

Beatriz "Bia" Mesquita

For a woman of just 25 with limited experience in the American MMA world, Brazil's Bia Mesquita is pretty confident in her ability to do the unprecedented. Although she has 15 years of training in jiu-jitsu, not to mention a slew of incredibly impressive achievements, that doesn't mean she's ready for Rousey now.

And she certainly wasn't ready for her when she began mentioning a potential fight in a 2013 interview with Gracie Magazine. Mesquita brought up the prospect again in July 2014 to MMAFighting.com (h/t Bloody Elbow), clearly trying to press the issue. Until recently, there was only one person doing the talking.

When asked about jiu-jitsu in January during the Great MMA Debate Podcast, Rousey was dismissive of the technique, saying it didn't impress her and adding that judo, her fighting discipline of choice, doesn't get the respect it deserves.

Of course, it didn't take long for Rousey's dismissive remarks to get back to Mesquita, who took it all a bit too personally—I mean, she didn't invent jiu-jitsu. Before the comments, she just wanted to fight Rousey. Now she wants to fight for "honor," as she told MMAFighting.com (h/tInternational Business Times).

Question: If you lose a fight for your own honor, can you ever really get it back? Something to ponder when laying out what's at stake.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Ian McCall

Considering it's been a veritable domestic violence fiesta (like a really upsetting and somber fiesta) in sports over the last year, it's baffling that so many men don't reconsider publicly talking about physically fighting a woman.

UFC Flyweight Ian McCall (13-5 career), spoke out in March about the theoretical possibility of Rousey fighting a man, which she told The Daily Beast (h/t USA Today) she will never do.

He told Rick J. Lee via MMAFighting.com (h/t MMAMania.com): "She's not beating up a man, I'm sorry, it's not going to happen. A good man will not lose to Ronda Rousey. You're not throwing me. It's pretty simple. And you weigh more than me."

McCall was definitely right about one thing, at 5'5" and 126 pounds, at the very least, Rousey has substantial size advantage on the tiny man. Even though he eventually came around in the conversation and said Rousey is the best woman in the world, it didn't do much to walk back the threat he just made about throwing her on her head. Especially in a mythical match she never challenged him to.

Folks Who Know Better

Felipe Dana/Associated Press

Paige VanZant

Newbie Paige "12 Gauge" VanZant (5-1 career) seems to be the only sensible woman anywhere in the neighborhood of Rousey's weight class. For a 21-year-old, she has a refreshingly grounded perspective on the situation, having calmly explained and reiterated to Yahoo Sports that she has no interest in being the next Ronda Rousey, but rather the first Paige VanZant.

Instead of making Rousey the focus of her career, a pragmatic VanZant has pointed out that their 20-plus-pound weight difference—and the fact that she's two inches shorter than Rousey to boot—makes a future fight between them all but impossible. She's even gone as far as flat out saying on TMZ Hollywood Sports (h/t Fansided) the two will never do battle in the Octagon.

Alex Trautwig/Getty Images

Mike Tyson

In the months leading up to the Mayweather-Pacquiao crapfest, former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson was pretty much everywhere talking about pretty much everything. During an interview with Huffington Post (h/t USA Today), Tyson praised Rousey for her epic personal marketing and added that after seeing her last fight, she could very well kick his ass.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Chris Jericho

There may be more than a few guys willing to get weird and suggest stepping into the Octagon for a showdown with Rousey, but WWE superstar Chris Jericho isn't one of them. In May, not only did he call out Ric Flair for crazily suggesting his daughter could beat the thus far unbeatable Rousey, Jericho even said on Fox Sports Live (h/t eWrestlingNews.com) that she could probably beat him up too!

More proof that Chris Jericho is great.

And now a few parting words from you dummies

ronda rousey could beat me up lawd

— Matt Thomas (@_MattThomas) June 2, 2015

Just saw Entourage and I'm stuck wondering how many people would actually fight Ronda Rousey for a chance to sleep w/ her. Anyone?

— Andrew Nemi (@anems12) June 18, 2015

I feel like I could beat up Ronda Rousey

— J. (@JaydenFinesse) May 24, 2015

Am I wrong for thinking I could beat Ronda Rousey in a fight..?

— Toby Egbuna (@PapiEgbuna) June 18, 2015

I got a friend that's convinced he could beat Ronda Rousey in a fight. I refuse to even entertain the conversation anymore

— HNH (@Catf1sh) June 13, 2015

I don't think CM Punk could beat Ronda Rousey.

— Michael Burgess (@WWEMichaelB) June 6, 2015

BEAU WTF R U DOING ASKING RONDA ROUSEY TO BEAT U UP FOR A VIDEO DO U REALIZE SHE COULD HURT U VERY BADLY

— kelsey (@jaislullaby) June 7, 2015

Had an hour long argument at the table about whether or not my dad could beat up Ronda Rousey. Whole family says not a chance.

— James Halasy (@James_Halasy) May 8, 2015

I bet I could beat Ronda Rousey. In Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 5 trivia.

— John Squires (@FreddyInSpace) May 3, 2015

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Source: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2499356