UFC sensation Ronda Rousey was the guest host on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Wednesday and was keen to impart her MMA knowledge onto some of the show’s regular cast by teaching a brief class on how to execute an armbar.
Veteran anchor Lindsay Czarniak asked Rousey to show her how to lock in the signature move, with ESPN MLB analyst Tim Kurkjian volunteering to be the recipient of it.
The UFC star denied the chance to get involved in the action herself, but she did her utmost to help Czarniak inflict some pain. Things didn’t go quite to plan, with Kurkjian not feeling the full force of what can be one of the most brutal moves in MMA:
Rousey took some time out from her preparations for her upcoming bout with Holly Holm to be on the show, becoming the first female athlete to guest host. In addition to teaching some of her moves, she also offered some thoughts on some other key sporting topics, including the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and his retirement dilemma.
The UFC women’s bantamweight champion revealed that if thoughts about stepping away from sport do begin creeping into your mindset, it’s time to go, per Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com:
I think if you're wondering whether or not you should play, that's the time that you should kind of think about stepping away.
Every single time I pull up to the gym, I park and I run from my car into the door of the gym, because I'm so excited to be there. If you're wondering whether or not you should be there, it's getting to be about that time.
As noted by Damon Martin of Fox Sports, there are question marks surrounding the Lakers star, who is beginning his 20th NBA season, and how much longer he will continue.
“I don't know what will be the decisive factor," Bryant said when quizzed on his retirement recently, per AFP (h/t Yahoo Sports).
The 37-year-old has already made history with the Lakers, as we can see here, courtesy of ESPN Stats & Info:
This will be Kobe Bryant's 20th season with @Lakers; will be most seasons played with 1 franchise in NBA history pic.twitter.com/smp0XiD6Ji
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 7, 2015
By contrast, Rousey seems to be in the prime of her sporting life. She’ll be fighting Holm in Melbourne, Australia, at UFC 193 on Nov. 15 in an event which is expected to break the attendance record for the sport, per the Herald Sun. According to the piece, 70,000 could pack out the Etihad Stadium to watch Rousey in action.
The promotion video for the event is certainly one to spark excitement levels ahead of the showdown between the duo, per UFC Europe:
How can you follow #UFC192? With @RondaRousey at #UFC193 of course!
https://t.co/Z14Ght8kaE
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) October 5, 2015
Rousey is the big favourite, but she has insisted that after making light work of a lot her previous opponents, Holm has the talent to draw this fight out a little more. Indeed, Holm’s boxing background should give her a chance to get a foothold in the bout and keep the pugnacious Rousey off of her early on.
Still, Rousey has the rounded style to cause massive problems for any competitor in this division and will surely wear Holm down eventually. If she can get her opponent on the mat and lock in the armbar, expect the results to be much more devastating than what she oversaw on SportsCenter.
