Why other judo standouts have no plans to follow UFC champ Ronda Rousey's path

Marti Malloy

(This story first appeared on usatoday.com.)

TORONTO — Thanks to UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, the most common question an outstanding female judo athlete is likely to receive these days has nothing to do with judo at all.

“Everyone wants to know if and when you’re going to do mixed martial arts,” Marti Malloy, who won gold on Sunday in the Pan Am Games’ 57-kilogram (125-pound) division, told USA TODAY Sports. “People assume that’s what you’re going to do next.”

Rousey’s spectacular rise from Olympic bronze medalist in Beijing in 2008 to one of the most influential female athletes in sports (and a movie star to boot) would appear on the surface to have opened a natural path to the riches of the octagon for the likes of Malloy, who won Olympic bronze in 2012 and has her sights set firmly on next year’s Rio de Janeiro Games.

“But it’s not quite as simple as that,” Malloy said. “The real meaning of judo is ‘the gentle way.’ There is no punching, no kicking. To me it is very opposite to MMA. People say you can make a lot of money, but it has taken me a lifetime to become good at judo. You can’t force a dream on someone.”

Rousey’s former contemporaries say her natural feistiness made MMA a perfect fit for her. For others, however, there is no temptation to gravitate toward the UFC and the potential for fame.

Kayla Harrison

Hannah Martin, who fights in Rousey’s old 63-kilogram (138-pound) weight class and was competing for bronze Monday night, has busted her shoulders, knees and mangled her fingers during her judo career and is one of the most tenacious competitors on the international circuit. Yet she has no wish to get “punched in the face.”

“I am not interested (in MMA),” Martin said.

The most touted potential defector from judo to the UFC has been Kayla Harrison, Rousey’s former sparring partner in the buildup to Beijing and a gold medalist herself in 2012. Harrison would need to drop more than 20 pounds to compete at the UFC’s highest level, much like Rousey was required to do when she switched. Training fights between the two were said to have been the stuff of legend.

However, while judo has benefitted from increased interest as a result of Rousey’s (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) success, U.S. national team coach Jimmy Pedro warned that the lure of MMA should not be judged solely on the experience of the UFC star, who fights Bethe Correia (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in Rio on Aug. 1 at UFC 190.

“There is a lot of money for the superstars, but you have to be willing to really pay a price and start all over again,” Pedro said. “You are talking about years of training to learn a new sport. The hope is someday there is a payout.

“At the highest level, MMA is a well-put-together show, but to get started in the sport there is a very seedy atmosphere for young girls, fighting in basements or bars, drunk guys yelling and screaming at the athletes. Ronda hit the lottery at the right time. For another girl to do that and follow Ronda’s footsteps is next to impossible.”

Nevertheless, the Rousey factor has brought more young female athletes into judo clubs, according to national team member Katie Sell, who fought against Rousey on numerous occasions.

“It is exciting to see that more people actually understand what judo is and don’t think its taekwondo or karate right away,” she said. “We are all really proud of what Ronda is doing.”

Then there is the small matter of Rousey’s lethal armbar, the move she has used to dominate all of her MMA fights and one to which none of her opponents have come close to finding an answer.

“That’s straight from judo,” Malloy said. “It is such a dynamic move, and she can execute it so many ways that she can anticipate anything someone tries to do to get out of it. During her judo career, she worked for thousands and thousands of hours to take someone down and perform that move. That’s why if anyone is going to stand a chance of beating her, they will probably have to come from a judo background.”

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