Ronda Rousey’s mouth lands her in trouble

RONDA Rousey’s next fight may be in the court room, with a potential future opponent firing up over the superstar’s sledge.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JULY 31: UFC Strawweight Champion Ronda Rousey of the United States poses for photographers during the UFC 190 Rousey v Correia weigh-in at HSBC Arena on July 31, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

RONDA Rousey’s next fight may be in the court room.

The UFC superstar, who completed the latest in a series of devastating knockouts on the weekend, has fired up a potential future opponent with a nasty sledge.

Rousey appeared to be goading Cris “Cyborg” Justino into a bout when she referenced the Brazilian’s recent drug ban for testing positive for steroids.

“I fight in the UFC, in the 135-pound division,” Rousey told ESPN following her latest win, a 34-second KO of another Brazilian, Bethe Correia.

“(Justino) can fight at 145 pumped full of steroids or she can make the weight just like everybody else without them.”

Justino took issue with the statement, going as far as to threaten Rousey with a lawsuit.

Cris "Cyborg" Justino.

I pass the same exams @rondarousey takes to prove she's clean for the same company #zuffa. #drugfree @ufc pic.twitter.com/raewuqYdbH

— Cris Cyborg (@criscyborg) August 2, 2015

@rondarousey you can not slander me with lies in the media. My lawyer will call @Primetime360ESM

— Cris Cyborg (@criscyborg) August 2, 2015

Justino would have to come down in weight to face Rousey, usually fighting at the featherweight limit of 145 pounds rather than Rousey’s bantamweight 135 pounds.

Rousey has ruled out a bout at a compromise weight of 140 pounds.

Rousey’s quickfire defeat on the weekend cemented her reputation as arguably the most exciting fighter in any combat sport — she has taken a total of just one minute, four seconds to dispatch her past three opponents.

It’s the sort of record that has helped build a buzz around Rousey and the UFC that has been compared to the rise of Mike Tyson in heavyweight boxing during the 1980s.

Rousey is drawing comparisons with Mike Tyson.

“She has that killer aura, meaning anything is capable of happening,” Tyson said during a recent visit to watch a Rousey workout at her base in Los Angeles.

Rousey was already a household name in the United States before her latest win. Two more significant deals announced in the aftermath of victory this week will raise her profile even further.

On Monday, Paramount Pictures confirmed they had secured the rights to Rousey’s best-selling autobiography My Fight/Your Fight, the story of the fighter’s remarkable rise through the ranks.

Unusually, Rousey will play herself in the Hollywood adaptation.

She has already demonstrated a flair for the big-screen, appearing in the recent action movies The Expendables 3, Furious 7 and the comedy film Entourage.

On Tuesday, Rousey was named by US burger chain “Carls Jr” as the face of its latest campaign, following in the footsteps of the likes of Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Heidi Klum and Kate Upton.

“Aside from a variety of other factors, (Ronda) was chosen because she is loved and respected so much by both men and women,” a spokesperson from Carl’s Jr said.

While it’s Rousey’s fearless performances inside the UFC octagon that have won her fame and fortune, her back story is, in its own way, just as compelling.

After a childhood upturned by family tragedy — her father committed suicide when she was eight — she set about emulating her mother, the first American woman to win a judo world title, as a champion judoka.

Rousey took up the sport at 11 and at the age of just 17 qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympics. Four years later, she won a bronze medal in Beijing.

She was working in a bar when she saw the UFC for the first time and decided it was something she could thrive in.

UFC chief Dana White had initially said women would never take part in the sport but was ultimately persuaded by Rousey.

“She absolutely brings in a different audience,” White said in a recent interview.

“She brings in an audience of people who don’t normally buy every fight. And she brings in a lot of women.”

For now, however, the biggest challenge might be finding an opponent capable of giving Rousey a match.

— with AFP

Originally published as Ronda Rousey’s mouth lands her in trouble