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Ronda Rousey is the First Woman to be Inducted Into UFC Hall of Fame

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced that former UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will be inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame’s “Modern Wing.” Rousey will be the first ever woman MMA fighter to be inducted to the Hall of Fame.

Rousey took part in the first female bout in the history of the Las Vegas-based promotion, as she submitted Liz Carmouche to became the inaugural 135-pound queen at UFC 157 on Feb. 23, 2013 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

“There would be no women in UFC without Ronda Rousey,” UFC President Dana White said. “Ronda is an absolute pioneer who helped me personally, and a lot of other people, look at women in combat sports differently. She accomplished everything she set out to do with UFC and became a global icon and role model in the process. Today, the women’s divisions are packed with incredibly talented fighters and they produce some of the best fights you’ll ever see. We’re proud to announce Ronda as the first woman to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.”

Rousey is considered a pioneer in women’s MMA for her exciting performances and her 6 consecutive title defenses as the UFC’s bantamweight champion, the most by any female champion in UFC history. Ronda holds many other records in women’s MMA, with four of the five fastest finishes in UFC women’s bantamweight history. She also owns the second most KO / TKO victories within the same division, as well as the most submissions via armbar (seven), securing her place as one of the most accomplished mixed martial artists in combat sports history.

Ronda holds impressive victories against top athletes like Alexis DavisCat ZinganoMiesha TateSara McMann and Bethe Correia, the latter whom she knocked out in just 34 seconds.

Rousey is a native from Riverside, California. Her career began at 11 training judo with her mother AnnMaria, a judo world champion. At just 17 years old, she won a gold medal in the World Junior Judo Championships. Just four years later, she captured the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic games, making history as the first American woman to win an Olympic medal since the sport joined the competition.

Ronda lost her title — and suffered her first career defeat — against Holly Holm in November 2015, and then in her final appearance suffered a first-round TKO loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 more than a year later. After those losses, Rousey left the sport to focus on acting and other personal projects. She became a global movie star, appearing in successful films like The Expendables 3, Furious 7 and Entourage. Ronda Rousey is currently a performer with the World Wrestling Entertainment as one its top superstars.

Rousey is scheduled to be inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame in a ceremony that will take place on Thursday, July 5, at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The event will be streamed live and exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

“This is an immense honor, to not only take part in bringing women to the forefront of this sport, but now the UFC Hall of Fame,” Rousey said. “May I be the first of many.”

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