Former UFC star David “Tank” Abbott has issued a remarkable challenge to Ronda Rousey and any other woman on the planet to fight him, insisting he would pay $100,000 to anyone who could beat him.
Abbott was speaking on the Proving Ground podcast about the ongoing war of words between Rousey and retired boxer Floyd Mayweather, per TMZ. Tank claimed the UFC women’s bantamweight champion would lose in a bout against Floyd because as a woman she has to deal with "all this emotional stuff.” Then he issued a bizarre challenge.
"I will fight any woman on this Earth for free,” he continued. “If I win, which is going to happen—and you’re going to get bashed up good—you have to make me a sandwich. If you win, I’ll give you $100,000.” Not finished there, Abbott stated that "you can't be a tranny...you gotta be a female. Born a female.”
Here’s the full clip of Abbott’s rant, courtesy of TMZ:
Rousey has dominated the women's bantamweight division in UFC, winning all 12 of her fights under the banner, 11 of which were inside the opening round. The manner in which she’s destroyed her opponents has left many wondering how Ronda would fare against a male competitor, including UFC President Dana White.
“The fascinating thing about Ronda Rousey is there's never been a scenario where a woman could kick a man's ass, and now there is. She definitely can,” White told Colin Cowherd on FS1's The Herd Wednesday (h/t Damon Martin of FOX Sports). “... [But] in society, there should never been (sic) a scenario where we're setting up a case where a man is hitting a woman in the face.”
The undefeated American, who is currently promoting her bout with Holly Holm in Melbourne, is someone who has also been critical of any kind of combat sports that would pit men against women.
Ronda had previously claimed on a Reddit Ask Me Anything (h/t the Guardian) that in a hypothetical "no rules" fight she would be able to beat Mayweather, but has since ruled out any serious possibility of such a spectacle happening.
“I don’t think, as a professional sport, we can have situation where an entire stadium is cheering about a man hitting a woman,” said Rousey, on Australian show The Project (h/t Nola Ojomu of Daily Mail Australia).
Abbott’s professional mixed martial arts record stands at a meagre 10 wins from 25 bouts. The 50-year-old was one of the most recognisable faces in the early days of UFC and his final fight in the brand was a defeat to Wesley Correira in 2003. His last professional fight was in 2013, a loss to Ruben Villareal.
