Strikeforce's Ronda Rousey to appear in ESPN The Magazine's 'The Body Issue'
Ronda Rousey will soon bare (mostly) all in a new photo shoot.
The Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion is expected to be featured in the 2012 edition of ESPN The Magazine's "The Body Issue," multiple sources close to the fighter today told MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com).
The issue's release date could not be confirmed, though it could hit stands this fall.
"The Body Issue" features pro athletes in various states of undress (with strategic hand and equipment placement). Other MMA fighters, including Gina Carano and Jon Jones, have been featured in the always-popular edition of the magazine.
Earlier this month, Rousey (5-0 MMA, 3-0 SF) cemented her status as one of Strikeforce's brightest stars when she won the bantamweight title by submitting Miesha Tate in painful fashion at "Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey." The event scored an impressive 431,000 Showtime viewers, a 25 percent increase from the promotion's previous big event, "Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine." The March 3 event peaked with 506,000 viewers during Rousey's bout.
In the weeks leading to the event, which took place at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Showtime produced a series of lavish promos for the women's title fight. The headliners pitched in with a series of verbal exchanges in the press that boiled over into a brief physical confrontation when Tate head-butted Rousey at the event's weigh-ins.
Rousey said the incident made the fight more personal after she admittedly hyped the matchup by jabbing at Tate in several interviews. She said she looked forward to punching Tate in the face.
But when the two met in the cage, it was Rousey's patented armbars that did damage. She missed on a first attempt, but a second try saw her badly dislocated Tate's elbow before a tap came late in the first round. Rousey was unapologetic afterward.
Still, it was the longest fight of the Olympian's career and clocked in at four minutes and 27 seconds. Each of her previous seven fights, both amateur and professional, didn't go past the first minute of the first round.
As of late, Rousey, who won a bronze medal representing the U.S. in judo at the 2008 Olympics, is enjoying an increased presence in the media. She recently shot a segment on ESPN's "Dan Le Batard Highly Questionable" and appeared in a magazine spread for "Fitness Rx for Women" in the athletic garb befitting her work.
This summer, though, she'll be wearing a lot less for ESPN's cameras.
