Heading into UFC 184, Ronda Rousey is facing two opponents.
First, there's Cat Zingano, Rousey's opponent on Saturday night. Zingano (9-0) is a vicious striker with plenty of power and a bit of a crazy streak, as evidenced by her bloodcurdling scream in the UFC 184 promo commercial. And if Rousey has the best mean mug in the sport (she does), Zingano has to be near the top of the rankings.
Point being, Rousey might have a challenge on her plate. Or maybe not. She is a nearly 10-1 favorite on some sportsbooks, and it is hard to imagine Zingano pulling off what would be considered an all-time upset. As my colleague Jonathan Snowden and I noted, Rousey is the most dominant fighter in UFC history and is on a completely different level in terms of athleticism.
I suppose it is no surprise, then, that the major pre-fight storyline for Rousey has centered not on Zingano, but on one of the bikini-clad women who will carry a numbered placard around the Octagon on Saturday night, informing the public which round is coming up.
Rousey and Octagon girl Arianny Celeste have sniped at each other ever since a 2012 interview Rousey did with Maxim. The magazine named Rousey to its Hot 100 list. In the accompanying interview (h/t MMA Fighting), she took a shot at Celeste: "It would have been really funny if I’d beaten Arianny Celeste... Like, ‘Ha-ha, it’s your job to show your t-----s—I do that better than you!’ Maybe next year," Rousey said. "She’s only getting older, and I’m reaching my prime."
Celeste stayed silent for a while but eventually returned fire on MMAjunkie Radio.
"I don’t really like the way she carries herself, I don’t think she’s a good role model for women," she said. "I think that women should empower each other and give each other a little pat on the back."
The pair remained mostly silent until last week, when Rousey took a subtle shot at Celeste during a media day at Glendale Fighting Club, her home gym in Los Angeles. Rousey said that fighters should get paid more than the ring girls.
"And I don't know if the ring girls get paid too much or the fighters don't get paid enough," she said. "But yeah. There's definitely a lot more in what the fighters do than what they do."
On Tuesday's edition of MMAjunkie Radio, Celeste told hosts Brent Brookhouse and Brian Garcia that Rousey is "a big bully" and that people don't understand how difficult her job is.
Not only are you walking around in a bathing suit where people are critiquing you for that, but try having a camera in your face and showing your personality and being a host of a TV show. Trying being like a live mannequin and having clients put you in a million different outfits, and you’re wanting to go home, but you’re not able to because you have 50 different more outfits.
My first reaction upon reading Celeste's statement?
I laughed. I laughed a good, long hearty laugh.
There are millions of people in the real world with difficult jobs, and here is Celeste, complaining about having to try on a bunch of outfits and wear a swimsuit with a camera in her face.
The fighters inside that Octagon are putting their health, brains and future at risk. She's on the outside, walking around in a circle and holding up a card.
And while I'm sure it isn't fun enduring the morons who whistle and shriek and yell out horrible things at the Octagon girls as they dutifully walk their circles, there is just no comparison between what they're doing and, oh, just about any other real and difficult job on the planet.
I am sure this all sounds mean. I do not intend it to be so. But there's just no way to take Celeste seriously when she's trying to tell us how difficult her job is.
Go tell the incredible UFC production crew that essentially works three straight days with very little sleep to set up an arena that your job is difficult. Perhaps they'll have some sympathy. I doubt it, but I guess there's a chance.
During Wednesday's open workouts at the UFC Gym in Torrance, California, Rousey reiterated her stance.
“I’m sorry, but she wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for the fighters. She wouldn’t," Rousey said. "Do you think her walking in circles around the two guys or two girls out there like, fighting for their lives is worth more? You think she works harder than they do?
"I didn’t say that she needed a pay cut. I said either the ring card girls are paid too much or the fighters aren’t paid enough.”
I don't know how much Celeste is paid for her work as an Octagon girl, nor do I care. And I suppose the Octagon girls are an essential part of the UFC experience. Ring card girls are a tradition in combat sports, after all. They are probably paid substantially more than many of the fighters on the UFC roster, especially those who are just starting out on preliminary cards. I don't have to agree with it, and Rousey's stance on the matter is quite clear.
But don't go around telling everybody that your job is difficult, because it isn't. I understand that Celeste felt the need to defend herself against Rousey's attacks. We've all been there.
But this is one battle she won't win. Because much like Rousey's opponents in the Octagon, Celeste is outgunned.
