Ronda Rousey makes Fortune’s top 40 most influential

SHE has won an ESPY for best fighter and earned over $5 million in the octagon this year, and now Ronda Rousey has added a new milestone to the list.

during the UFC 193 media event at Etihad Stadium on September 16, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia.

RONDA Rousey’s success knows no bounds.

In the same year the undefeated fighter made over US$5 million from two bouts alone, won an ESPY for Best fighter, and starred in both Furious 7 and Entourage, the 28-year-old has become the third ever athlete to make it onto Fortune’s top 40 most influential young people in business.

The only two athletes to make the list before her? None other than LeBron James and Tiger Woods. That’s some glorious company.

The 40 under 40, described as a “measure of power and influence”, counts down some of the most successful young people, and this year includes the likes of singer Taylor Swift, as well as actor and founder of billion-dollar enterprise The Honest Company, Jessica Alba.

Rousey takes out last spot on the list, she is walking in among some of the most successful people in her age bracket — and doesn’t look at all out of place.

Rousey took to Instagram after receiving the honour, saying: “Big thank you to @fortunemag for naming me one of the 40 under 40 most influential young people in business.”

Fortune writer Daniel Roberts said that while the list generally tends to steer clear of famous faces, Rousey’s “ubiquitous fame” is such that the reason for her inclusion on the list essentially writes itself.

On top of her obvious achievement’s in the octagon, which earned her a reputation as the most dominant female athlete ever, Rousey’s influence comes not only from her actions, but also from her words.

“The most notable and significant thing about Rousey in 2015 has been the influence that her words have had, far beyond sports,” Roberts said.

“She is inspiring not only women in sports, and not only women, but people everywhere. When she speaks, we listen.”

Rousey’s ESPY win confirmed her status as the most dominant female fighter in the UFC.

It was Rousey’s outspokenness that led to her most successful entrepreneurial venture of the year, when she trademarked the term “do nothing b***h” and turned a 20-second rant into a product line that sold more than 50,000 T-shirts in a matter of days.

When she later donated all the proceeds to mental health organisation Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, Health Magazine called her “exactly the type of role model we need”.

Rousey’s inclusion on the list confirms, if it wasn’t already blatantly obvious, the enormity of the fighter’s budding popularity and global influence.

MMA FIGHTER’S CHALLENGE TO ROUSEY

Abbott was an iconic figure in the early days of the UFC.

DESPITE an undefeated record, and a dominance in her sport that is at a level never before seen by any female fighter, Ronda Rousey remains the target of desperate male fighters looking to follow in the slip-stream of the 28-year-old’s fame.

Former UFC fighter and pro-wrestle David ‘Tank’ Abbott has said challenged Rousey to go toe-to-toe with him in the octagon, and has put a hefty wager on his own head.

Currently fighting in the MMA heavyweight division King of the Cage, Abbott offered to hold the fight free of charge, and said he would pay Rousey $100,000 if she wins.

“She’s a girl. It’s all about this emotional stuff,’ he told The Proving Ground Podcast.

“I don’t care, I will fight any woman on this Earth for free…I won’t even train.

“I will fight you and if I win, which is going to happen, and you’re going to get bashed up good, you have to make me a sandwich. If you win, I’ll give you a hundred thousand dollars.”

Rousey told The Project earlier this year that it is unlikely she will ever set foot in a cage to fight a man.

“I don’t think it’s a great idea to have a man hitting a woman on television,” she said.

By the looks of it, Tank will be able to keep his $100,000, but will be forced to make his own sandwiches from now on.