Ronda Rousey’s Pain Tolerance Is Her Secret Weapon

The Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC, women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is touted for her immaculate professional record among others. The Olympic judo bronze medallist has been asked many times on the secret of her success in the Octagon and has replied with an assortment of answers including discipline, perseverance and ambition as the reasons behind her terrific run.

Rousey’s trainer Edmond Tarverdyan and Rousey’s mother AnnMaria De Mars shared colourful accounts on the lifetime bout of Rousey with assorted injuries and how it has helped play into the psyche of the current champion. Rousey’s mother even went back to her daughter’s childhood to reveal that “Rowdy” tried to hide a foot injury while competing in a judo tournament.

Way back 1984, De Mars had her daughter x-rayed after the 28-year-old judoka disclosed that she won the tournament yet lost a match after finding difficulty in unleashing a kick. As it turns out, the UFC standout was then suffering from broken bones in her foot during the competition but that did not deter her from winning seven matches and bringing home the trophy.

A similar anecdote was relayed by Tarverdyan who shared that the recent victory over Alexis Davies showed the same pain tolerance. The renowned trainer said that Rousey had a ganglion cyst in her right fist and was also mending an uncooperative knee pre-fight. Surprisingly, it was the same right fist with the cyst that ended the match in technical knockout and in just less than 16 seconds.

“She loved that pain a little bit in the knuckle. She was like, ‘I’m gonna knock her her out with this knuckle. I love it. I’m gonna squeeze it so hard and break her head with it,’ “ Tarverdyan told LA Daily News. “And she absolutely did that.”

For her part, Rousey labelled every single injury that she has experienced throughout her career as a blessing in disguise. She said that every time she is given time off to mend, she uses the lull to analyse and focus on the aspects of her game that needs more attention. Her trainer Tarvedyan credits her mother for the way she has raised a tough daughter and that has translated to a wonderful career in the Octagon.

Rousey is set to test her pain threshold once again as she defends her title against number 2 contender Cat Zingano at UFC 184 in Los Angeles, California. Rousey and Zingano already passed the random pre-fight drug tests and are awaiting the weigh-in in the weekend prior to the highly anticipated main event.

For concerns on this story, contact the author at v.hidalgo@ibtimes.com.au.