On Saturday, Sports Illustrated announced UFC champion Ronda Rousey will be one of three cover models for its Swimsuit Edition, per Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com. The 29-year-old is accustomed to the spotlight outside of fighting. She is an actress, has hosted SportsCenter and even appeared on the cover of ESPN The Magazine's 2012 Body Issue.
Rousey, Ashley Graham and Hailey Clauson found out they each were chosen during a special on TNT (via TBS):
Congrats to @Hailey_Clauson, @theashleygraham, & @RondaRousey for making history with this year's 3-cover #SISwim!https://t.co/mnX2bXI6wa
— TBS Network (@TBSNetwork) February 14, 2016
The UFC congratulated its star via Twitter:
Congrats @RondaRousey for making the @SI_Swimsuit cover!! ?????? https://t.co/poJ1aR0WDF
— UFC (@ufc) February 14, 2016
This could be another big step in the healing process for Rousey, who barely showed her face in the days following her first career defeat at UFC 193 to Holly Holm in November. However, since then, she has hosted Saturday Night Live and begun training for her next fight, per TMZ (via Scott Rafferty of Rolling Stone). It appears as though she has moved on and is embracing the spotlight again.
While she won't finish her career undefeated and it remains to be seen whether she will go down as the greatest female MMA fighter of all time, Rousey will seize any opportunity she can to be a part of the entertainment world.
