Two-time WWE Divas champion Paige believes UFC star Ronda Rousey would have no problem beating the best WWE has to offer—including the men.
In an exclusive with talkSPORT's Rob Leigh, the 23-year-old spoke of how she would only consider facing Rowdy for entertainment purposes, saying:
Otherwise she would totally destroy every single one of us, including the men!
There’s not really a strategy you can do but if it is in the wrestling ring, there’s her inexperience that kind of goes against her that way, y’know?
But still, I wouldn’t want to mess with her! At any point she could say: 'Eff this, I’m just going to put you in an armbar!' And you’d have no choice, right?
Indeed, Paige believes her only chance of beating Rousey would be to employ some unconventional methods, adding: "Maybe I can do the old lick on the face, crawl over her, hope she freaks out and pin her from there. But no, I wouldn’t want to be first in line to take her on—she would kick my a**e!"
Rousey has recently revealed her desire to become WWE Divas champion having utterly dominated the field in the UFC. The bantamweight champion has won all 12 of her professional mixed martial arts fights—three by knockout and nine by submission, with 11 coming in the first round.
As Bleacher Report columnist Jonathan Snowden noted, the 28-year-old is now a true icon of the sport:
Ronda Rousey is the most interesting fighter in UFC history. Not as a person, but as an icon and proxy for other people's hangups.
— Jonathan Snowden (@JESnowden) August 29, 2015
SB Nation's Scott Christ put it more bluntly:
Ronda Rousey is the baddest MFer on the planet
— Scott (@scottchristBLH) August 2, 2015
In the past, Rowdy has expressed confidence she could beat now-retired and undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather in a "no rules" fight, per a Reddit AMA, but she is adamant she would never face a man in a professional context, per the Project (via Nola Ojomu of the Daily Mail).
Of course, Paige's comments are to be taken in jest—they're clearly not a serious suggestion Rousey would face them in a real fight.
Rowdy takes on Holly Holm on November 15 in UFC 193 and could well continue her remarkable run of wins in the Octagon.
She would of course be a huge draw if she made the sensational switch to WWE at the close of her MMA career, and having shown a willingness to join the Divas, it wouldn't be a shock if one day in the future she does step into the ring with Paige and the others.
If she does, another championship title awaits her.
