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Judo Olympian Ronda Rousey Could Be an MMA Star -- If Her Mom Will Let Her

6/12/2008 8:11 AM ET By Michael David Smith

    • Michael David Smith
    • Michael David Smith is FanHouse's Lead Blogger
There's a lot to like about Ronda Rousey. She's America's best hope for an Olympic medal in judo this summer, she's a passionate advocate for her sport, and she has a blog that shows she's smart and funny.

Unfortunately, beyond those two weeks in August in Beijing, she's not going to have many opportunities to be in the public eye, or to make a living as a professional athlete. So that's why it makes sense that, as Beau Dure of USA Today reports, she's considering turning her attention to mixed martial arts:

"I have quite a few people who have been trying to get me to do MMA," Rousey says. "A coach has been talking to me about teaching me striking (punches, kicks) after the Olympics....

"My mom's generally not a big fan of the idea, so we'll see if I can convince her,"
I hope Rousey's mom OKs the idea, because while there are more opportunities than ever before for women to compete as amateurs in sports like boxing, wrestling and judo, there aren't many opportunities in those sports for those women to become professionals. MMA is Rousey's best chance to make a living doing what she loves.

Via Savage Science.

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