- published: 25 Feb 2016
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Ronda Rousey (born February 1, 1987) is an American judoka and mixed martial artist and the current Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion. She has finished all of her opponents by armbar in the first round. She formerly trained at the Olympic Training Center in Wakefield, Massachusetts under guidance of Jimmy Pedro and is now part of Team Hayastan in Santa Monica, California.
Rousey trains under Gokor Chivichyan and Edmond Tarverdyan of the Glendale Fighting Club in Glendale, CA. Rousey also trains with Leo Frincu and Gene Lebell, along with Team Hayastan fighters such as Manny Gamburyan, Karen Darabedyan, Sako Chivitchian and Sevak Magakian. She is managed by Darin Harvey of Fight Tribe MMA.
Rousey is currently the #1-ranked pound-for-pound female MMA fighter in the world by MMARising.com, and is ranked #1 at 135 pounds and #2 at 145 pounds according to the Unified Women's MMA Rankings.
At just 17, Rousey qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, becoming the youngest judo player in the entire Games. Also in 2004, Rousey won a gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Judo Championships in Budapest, Hungary.