Opinion | How Ronda Rousey built an industry that eventually destroyed her

It’s good being bad. Very good, just ask Ronda Rousey. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Rousey became the first American to ever win a judo medal when she captured the bronze before parlaying that victory into a highly unlikely and wildly successful crossover career. Thanks to her insatiable desire and charisma, she became an industry unto herself by creating an invincible aura the likes of which sports has rarely seen.

It’s important to remember all this because today, at the still youthful age of 29, Rousey is no longer bad. Not even close. The first female UFC champion, Rousey was absolutely obliterated last week at UFC 207 by Amanda Nunes in the bantamweight championship. The beat down came on the heels of an equally painful dismantling little more than a year ago at the hands of Holly Holm.

In her first 12 fights, Rousey systematically destroyed her opponents so thoroughly that only one match made it past the first round. She was just as ruthless outside of the ring as well with her condescending and disrespectful attitude toward her opponents.

Such was the hype that there was even talk of her being a viable opponent to undefeated welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather. Of course it was all folly but the fact that it was even mentioned spoke volumes about Rousey’s appeal.

Over the last five years she became the most visible female athlete in the world and took the UFC to places it had never been before. There have been a number of great male fighters in the UFC but none of them sat next to Oprah on the couch or shared a hug with Ellen.

She became a much in demand movie commodity as well appearing in The Expendables 3, Furious 7 and Entourage. Photogenic and confident, Rousey came to embody the true essence of a crossover star. But just like Dr. Frankenstein, the monster Rousey created would ruthlessly destroy her.