My Fight / Your Fight (40 page)

I blink. I always blink.

The experience is not quite like coming up from underwater, although the sound of the crowd seems like that. It is not like emerging from a dark room, but the lights of the arena feel like that.

You go from having on super blinders with no peripheral vision and earplugs into seeing and hearing everything all at once. It is as overstimulating as an experience can be.

I am flooded with relief. Then joy. It is hard to digest it all at once.

Relieved and happy, the crowd is at full volume, and the lights are at full brightness with the spotlight shining in my face. Every muscle in my body—which seconds ago had been engaged, ready to act at any second in hand-to-hand combat—is relaxed. All of these emotions I've been blocking out are rushing in, and so many things are going on in my head all at once.

It's hard to snap back, to return to reality.

It is supposed to be my moment. It is my moment. But I am not sure how present I am in that moment. I find these moments to be my most unintelligible.

A microphone is thrust in front of me, and I open my mouth to speak. It is hard to communicate in this environment. I listen to the question. I let my lips form a response, hoping that my brain will catch up later. I acknowledge my opponent, appreciate the crowd, give them a little showmanship, and try to be a little theatrical. I have no idea how the words all come out since they seem to fall out of my mouth in an incoherent jumble.

As I walk away, through the crowd with my arms around my family, back into the tunnel, after all of these fights, the feeling is always the same. There is a sense of accomplishment. There is a sense of fulfillment. I feel safe.

Above all, there is the indisputable knowledge that I am the greatest in my role in the history of the world.

To Mom, for everything you've done, for everything you've taught us and for letting us co-opt some of your brilliant mom-isms for this book; to Jennifer, for always keeping it real; to Julia, for being Julia; to Dennis, for taking us in and feeling like he got the good end of the deal; to Eric, for being an amazingly supportive husband and bearing with us through this chaos; to Eva, Emilia and Calum, you are the future; to Edmond, my kyank, mentor, partner, teacher and friend; to Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta, and Frank Fertitta, for taking the risk; to my agent, Brad Slater of William Morris Endeavor, for always believing in me; to Marina, my reality check; to Jessamyn, my favorite hug; to Shayna, Vegeta to my Goku; to Jessica Lee Colgan, you are a Godsend; to my team—Justin Flores, Martin Berberyan, Manny Gamburyan, Gene LeBell, Rener and Ryron Gracie—for (literally and figuratively) being in my corner; to Mike Dolce; to Eric Williams;

To my judo coaches Tony Mojica, Blinky Elizalde, Trace Nishiyama, Big Jim Pedro, and Israel Hernández; to my early MMA coaches Leo Frincu and Gokor Chivichyan;

To my sparring partners; to everyone at GFC, Hayastan, SK Golden Boys, Lonsdale Boxing and Gracie Academy; to Lillie McNulty and her family; to Wetzel Parker, a friend indeed; to Dianna Linden, my healer; to Dr. Thomas Knapp; to Dr. Jake Flores; to Erin Malone at WME; to our amazing editor Alexis Gargagliano; to our publisher Judith Regan and the entire team at Regan Arts; to everyone deserving but not listed here;

To my fans, you all kick ass;

And to every asshole who motivates me to succeed out of spite.

Ronda Rousey
is the UFC's undefeated women's bantamweight champion and an Olympic medalist in judo. Arguably the most dominant athlete in UFC history, Rousey is responsible for the inclusion of women in the Octagon. She has taken Hollywood with her signature force, landing roles in major films and exploding onto the scene with the drive, commitment, and command that have made her a champion.

Maria Burns Ortiz
is a journalist who has written for numerous publications including ESPN.com, Fox News Latino, and the Associated Press, and was named the National Association of Hispanic Journalists' Emerging Journalist of the Year. She is also Ronda Rousey's sister. She lives with her husband and their three amazing kids.

65 Bleecker Street

New York, NY 10012

Copyright © 2015 by Ronda Rousey

Names and identifying details of some of the people and places portrayed in this book have been changed.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Regan Arts Subsidiary Rights Department, 65 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012.

First Regan Arts hardcover edition, May 2015

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015930623

ISBN 978-1-941393-26-0

eISBN 978-1-941393-85-7

Jacket design by Richard Ljoenes

Jacket art and interior photographs by Eric Williams

Interior design by Nancy Singer