Ronda Rousey: Hall of Famer.

They put her in the UFC Hall of Fame, and my first reaction is….well, of course there is a UFC Hall of Fame (accompanied by a gigantic eye roll).

Then, my second reaction is…Ronda Rousey was good for about 2 minutes, and is now a fake athlete. How does she get in to the HOF? Now, I’ve written about her before, my feelings on her are well-documented. But let me, again, make my case.

She joined the UFC in 2012, and remained part of the “league” for 4 years. Her combined MMA record is 12-2. That’s 14 fights. And SHE LOST TWO OF THEM.

True, she was a pioneer. The first female UFC star, and for a short time there, she dominated the sport. To be fair, it was a sport and league- Women’s UFC- that had just been invented and specifically built around her. For a while in the early 90’s, I had my own wiffle ball league, it had some quirky rules, and I only invited certain people to play….I dominated that league for a little while too. But that doesn’t make me a great wiffle ball player. S/O to Eric Davis, who for some reason became our most imitated batting stance, and league Patron Saint.

That load up with the hands tho…..

The truth is, by the generally accepted standards of Sport, Rousey is a bum. A failure. Little more than a flash in the pan, with a multi-million dollar marketing machine. She was a Dana White creation…and they obviously carried her as far as her limited talent would take her.

Then, when the shit hit the fan, she bailed. She gathered whatever pieces were left of her shattered legacy, tucked tail, and ran to the outstretched arms of Vince McMahon. Because, among the world of “squeezing every cent out of marginal athleticism”….the WWE is where you need to be.

 

Now, hey, this a League that is less than 25 years old, and is 60% Hype- 20% Marketing- 20% Talent…the whole notion of the HOF is just a cash grab. They can put whomever they want in, based on whatever criteria they want. It has little more “legitimacy” than the Red Sox hall of fame.

But, regardless of your standing, when you put the equivalent of Dontrelle Willis in your HOF…you have to know Le Cap is going to take notice.