Former UFC pin-up is devoted to helping others less fortunate than herself and does so alongside husband Travis Browne and his two children she now calls her own
RONDA ROUSEY is the world’s hardest woman renowned as much for bashing people’s heads in as she is her eye-catching looks.
But behind the leather jacket-wearing tough exterior lies a softer side that sees her donate generously to charity and look after her two stepsons.
10Ronda Rousey is the worlds hardest woman who has quit UFC to join WWE with stars like Triple H and Stephanie McMahonCredit: Getty Images
Footage recently emerged appearing to show the former UFC champion in training for her professional wrestling debut – which is rumoured to come at April’s Wrestlemania showpiece.
All the moves are there: the Irish whip into the turnbuckle, a DDT on a man and even a kick to the gut.
Rousey, who turned 31 this month, will likely make millions in WWE.
She is expected to officially sign her contract with the company at Sunday’s Elimination Chamber.
Yet her real kick comes from providing for the disadvantaged and those who want to follow in her footsteps.
10The former Octagon star has made the switch to pro wrestling but maintains her big-hearted natureCredit: WWE
10Ronda Rousey now has a stable private life with husband Travis BrowneCredit: Instagram
10Ronda Rousey gives up a lot of her time for good causesCredit: Unselfie
10Ronda Rousey is a hard woman in the Octagon but has a heart of gold outside of itCredit: Getty Images
She digs into her own pocket…
As far back as 2013 – when Rousey was nowhere near the global superstar she is now – the American donated around £3,500 of her own cash to a mental health charity that dealt with issues surrounding eating disorders.
While competing in judo, Rousey spoke candidly of how she battled her own demons regarding her yo-yoing weight that would fluctuate wildly with regular weigh-ins.
And she helped raise more cash for Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services by allowing people to pay almost £150 a go to grapple with her.
She takes no prisoners with her charity work
Rousey also launched a ‘No DNBs’ appeal as a tie-in with the same charity – ‘No DNBs’ meaning a “do nothing b***h”.
10Ronda Rousey is now a stepmum to Travis Browne’s two children Kaleo and KeaweCredit: InstagramRonda Rousey is now a stepmum to Travis Browne’s two children Kaleo and KeaweCredit: Instagram
10Travis Browne with his two lads, who call Ronda Rousey their mumCredit: Instagram @travisbrownemma
10Ronda Rousey lands a left hand on Miesha Tate at UFC 168Credit: Getty
Rousey said: “I have this one term for the kind of woman my mother raised me to not be, and I call it a do nothing b***h.
“The kind of chick that just tries to be pretty and be taken care of by someone else.”
A portion of the money raised from the sale of Rousey’s T-shirts went to providing mental health care and substance abuse services to more than 90,000 people throughout southern California.
Some 56,809 tops have so far been purchased, meaning a significant chunk of the £1million raised has gone to providing care for others.
Then in 2016 Rousey donated £21,500 to Flavio Canto, a Brazilian Olympic judo bronze medallist, who teaches combat sports to kids from the favelas of his native country.
Canto, who posed for a photo alongside big-hearted Rousey, wrote: “Speechless. Ronda is a champion inside and outside the octagon. My eternal gratitude.”
10Travis Browne and Ronda Rousey have been happily married since August last yearCredit: Getty
10Ronda Rousey fights Brazil’s Bethe Correia at UFC 190
Her quiz fed 100,000 people
On top of all this there was Rousey’s Free Rice Campaign, which saw sponsors donate ten grains of rice for every correct answer on a quiz run on her website.
The initiative was so popular that, over the course of seven fights, Rousey raised enough food to feed 103,296 people in worse off countries.
And she helps the kids
Always with one eye on the future generations, Rousey started the Gompers Judo program in 2009, in part because her sister Jennifer was previously a student teacher at Gompers Middle school in Los Angeles.
The fight star would auction off goods to raise funds for children learning judo, covering their cost of airfare, accommodation and food for when they travelled to Washington DC for a competition.
New WWE star Ronda Rousey posts video showing the moment she surprised her kids by starring at Wrestlemania 2018
Ronda the loving step-mum
Rousey’s selflessness is evident in her personal life too, as she juggles being a fight phenomenon, film star and globe-trotting icon with stepmum duties to husband Travis Browne’s two sons.
UFC star Browne, 35, has young lads, Kaleo and Keawe, from his first marriage to Erin Browne.
He uploaded a heartwarming clip of his two boys being shocked when Rousey made her grand entrance in the WWE at last month’s Royal Rumble.
Browne, who tied the knot with Rousey in August last year, wrote alongside the clip: “So hard not telling these boys what was going on! @rondarousey I absolutely love seeing that smile on your face! Your boys are very proud of you!”
