Ronda Rousey does not appear to be the type of person to get starstruck. But on Wednesday, even the undefeated UFC great seemed a bit dazzled as Iron Mike Tyson watched her work out at the Glendale Fighting Club in California.
“It’s very humbling and I was just honored that he would go though the trouble or go out of his way to watch me train,” Rousey told the Los Angeles Daily News of the session, also attended by UFC bigwigs Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta.
Rousey is 11-0 and will look to make it an even dozen victories as she defends her UFC bantamweight title on Aug. 1 against Bethe Correia at UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro.
White told the newspaper that Rousey and Tyson carry a similar mentality into battle.
“Mean, nasty, loves to finish people, you know,” White said. “They definitely have the same style.”
There’s also a mutual admiration.
“I think she’s great and so awesome,” Tyson told the Daily News. “It’s hard to stay cutting edge when you’re talking about a human being, but this is really cutting-edge stuff.”
Rousey said she was grateful for her visitor, but still kept her focused eyes on the prize.
“I’m really glad Mike was able to come, but I really don’t think it’s till I beat Bethe and go home and go back to the hotel and look at myself in the mirror for the first time, like (Tyson) was saying, that moment after it all, it hits you,” Rousey said. “And he knows better than anyone what that moment is like. And I think that’s the time it’s really gonna hit me.”
Courtesy of: Fox Sports
Photo: Robert Laberge/Zuffa LLC