Get (more) familiar with UFC champ and Hollywood star, Ronda Rousey, in four minutes
Ask Turtle from HBO’s modern-day bromance, Entourage—Ronda Rousey is easy to fall for. The UFC bantamweight champion who bagged an Olympic medal in judo in 2008 and continues to make her opponents tap out in under a minute with an armbar, is now becoming a Hollywood mainstay. After duking it out with Michelle Rodriguez in heels and a gown in Furious 7 and playing hard-to-get in Entourage, Rousey is also a model for Buffalo David Bitton and the poster child for women dominating a man’s world. While at Bud Light’s makeshift party town, Whatever, USA, at California’s Catalina Island (May 30), one of MMA’s biggest moneymakers talks marking out for Mike Tyson, comparing her book tour to Kim K.’s and why wimpy men are a turn-off.
VIBE: How’s Whatever, USA, treating you so far?
Ronda Rousey: Good! I’ve been here for about five minutes. (Laughs) We got to take a ride around the island and helicoptered in, which was super cool. I took the ferry here before when I was in the sixth grade at a science magnet school and our trip was to come [to Catalina Island] for a camp thing.
According to Instagram, you recently met Mike Tyson. What was that conversation like?
Well, I met him before and I saw him again recently. Every single time, I totally mark out like (screams) “Mike Tyson!” [With] him and Harrison Ford, I just can’t keep it together.
What do they both tell you?
I don’t know. I speak so incoherently that they’re just trying to have a normal conversation and I just fail.
SEE ALSO: 5 Reasons Why Ronda Rousey Would Fade Floyd Mayweather
You recently dropped your book My Fight/ Your Fight. Do you feel like your book tour has beat Kim Kardashian’s so far?
I haven’t really looked into it at all but I know it’s been one of the most heart-warming experiences I’ve ever had, interacting with fans and things like that. More emotional than anything I’ve ever dealt with before. I didn’t write about myself to look perfect. Even the pictures, I would get some [photos] of me getting my face pounded into the ground. It wasn’t a bunch of boob-squished selfies. It was supposed to be real and authentic and I was ready for huge backlash, to be honest. When I was really opening up about what I went through post-Olympics, I thought people were going to give me a really hard time about all of that [but] everyone’s been really understanding.
You’re also going to be in Entourage, where Turtle [played by Jerry Ferrara] hits on you by challenging you to a fight. Do guys usually come on to you like that?
Yeah, but that really doesn’t work… ever. I don’t like it when guys come up to me and they’re like, ‘Oh you’re so scary.’ I don’t like when guys act like I’m intimidating. I like a guy to make me feel like I’m small and delicate. I like to be taken care of. I’m the tough chick all day long. When I come home at the end of the day, I want to be the held little girl and everyone just assumes that I’m walking around all rough and tough all the time. For Turtle, it didn’t start like that. If you approach me like that, it wouldn’t have gone down like that. It’s how we ended up there that’s really interesting in the story.