UFC champ Ronda Rousey isn't comfortable with role-model status

Ronda Rousey rarely shows a shred of doubt or vulnerability, at least not for the consumption of her considerable public following.

That’s her thing — a mixture of cockiness and composure, underscored by the threat that she is ready to unleash fire on those who cross her path, whether it be a foe in the octagon or a critic.

Just four years after entering mixed martial arts and heading into her UFC 193 showdown with Holly Holm in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 14, she has become not only America’s favorite badass, but a female role model, a no-holds barred picture of authenticity.

Yet it is precisely that role, as a figure of inspiration to the young, where you spot a crack in Rousey’s confidence.

“It is very flattering,” Rousey said. “I have tried to do my best, but sometimes I feel I am not infallible enough to really be the perfect role model for little girls. I try my best, that’s the best that I can do. I’m sure some mothers are happy about it and some don’t approve and that’s up to them and how they choose to parent.”

Aside from the small fact that the squeamish may be fazed by Rousey’s job description, it is hard to imagine a more influential female figure in sports.

The 28-year-old embodies toughness and resiliency and a refusal to quit. She has single-handedly made women’s MMA a mainstream success and bounced back from a period of personal uncertainty at the end of her judo career, which reached it apex when she won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics.

She is also unafraid to take a stand for a cause she believes in, most famously calling out boxer Floyd Mayweather over his alleged instances of domestic violence.

Plenty of parents have bought into her brand of no-nonsense drive and ambition. Around Halloween time, social media had countless pictures of girls dressed in Rousey costume, plus, much less adorably, a few of adult males in similar attire.

Britney Davis Cranford, of Lufkin, Texas, believes Rousey is a figure worthy of looking up to, and as such, her daughter Maveryk dressed up for Halloween in Rousey-style UFC gear, complete with a faux-championship belt.

“Maveryk has an intensely competitive spirit for a 3-year-old, so naturally the person and fighter that Ronda is appeals to that nature,” Cranford told USA TODAY Sports in an email. “As parents we want to foster that competitive spirit and also instill in our daughter the belief that hard work and perseverance pays off in everything that she endeavors to accomplish. Ronda epitomizes these convictions so we encourage Maveryk’s admiration of her, and we’re proud that she recognizes at such a young age that Ronda is awesome and worthy of reverence.”

Ronda Rousey

Part of Rousey’s appeal, it seems, has been her refusal to accept societal norms around body image. For a Sports Illustrated photo shoot earlier this year, she deliberately did not cut weight beforehand, wanting to portray a more “realistic” image.

“There are different kind of role models,” Rousey said. “There are bodily role models and I didn’t really have any healthy bodily role models growing up. I am just trying to represent one body type that hasn’t really been shown at all in the mainstream media.

“I feel like a small fraction of women’s body types are represented in the media and (as a teenager) I thought there was maybe something wrong or undesirable about me. The standard I held myself too was what the boys I had crushed on liked. When I was 13 or 14, I have a crush on this kid who had a stack of Maxims in his room, I don’t look like any of those Maxim girls. It was hard. I want to show something different.”

Rousey has been a fighter all her life. Her mother was a world judo champion and toddler Ronda adored pro wrestling. She always liked the heel, or bad guy. Indeed, her nickname of “Rowdy” is borrowed from the late, legendary wrestler, Roddy Piper.

Yet her uncompromising approach has won her a legion of fans, both within the core traditional followers of mixed martial arts and the mainstream. With many of her backers being teenagers or younger, Rousey is a legitimate role model, whether she realizes it or not.

“Ronda’s toughness is what appeals to me,” said 15-year-old Leah Samuel, a UFC fan who lives near Rousey in Santa Monica, Calif., on Monday. “She made me realize that the coolest thing in the world is to be comfortable with who you are, not chasing the approval of everyone else.”

For more on UFC 193, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.