Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey may not be the most dominant champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship anymore, but the impact she made overall is still being felt today. Rousey may have been the key factor in making helping elevate women’s mixed martial arts and the sport altogether into the mainstream status, but she is also getting a lot of credit for lighting a fire under the betting scene in mixed martial arts.
So many casual fans were dead-set convinced that Rousey would be able to walk out as champion in each of her defenses that they started to bet on the fights, despite maybe not even knowing what half-guard meant. Mandalay Bay sports book director Mike Piranio told MMA Junkie how much of an impact she made in the betting scene:
“It’s climbed every year, and it’s on par with boxing now. There’ll be a boxing match every once in a while, like (Floyd) Mayweather’s last fight, (which) was probably bigger than anything. But on a week to week basis … if it’s a good card in MMA, we’re getting just as much interest in those.”
“I would say the Rousey run was a lot of (betting) tickets, and a lot of different interest in that. That was really good for MMA and the UFC, obviously. She made a huge impact in the number of people (betting on MMA) – and they still come now. It’s not like they quit. If she fights again, I’m sure they’ll come back and bet it.”
