Ronda Rousey talks sex with fighters, value of fighting, and getting punched in the face

In 2 months, Ronda Rousey will have her first chance to defend the newly minted women's Bantamweight title at UFC 157. An undefeated record with only one of her six opponents making it outside the first minute and a confrontational persona in and out of the cage got her the opportunity to become the UFC's first ever WMMA star. Her first opponent in the Octagon will be Liz Carmouche (7-2) who's coming off a submission win over Kaitlin Young at Invicta 2.

On Wednesday, Esquire.com posted an interview with Rousey where she addressed many subjects including fear & courage, sex with fighters, armbars, and a lot more.

On fighting:

People have been fighting each other for millennia. It's part of human nature. The confusing thing is we now live in a society where it's not illegal to be an asshole, but it's illegal to slap one.

I love fighting. It's preserving something that's real, that I think is trying to be crushed out of society. And I think it's the safest way that we can keep it. People need to hold on to their sanity somehow.

On fear:

People say to me all the time, "You have no fear." I tell them, "No, that's not true. I'm scared all the time. You have to have fear in order to have courage. I'm a courageous person because I'm a scared person

On armbars:

I've been arm-barred. I've been arm-barred and I let my arm be broken, and I didn't tap, and I got out, and I still won that fight. Fuck 'em. I don't care. An arm bar isn't the end for me. The ligaments in both my elbows are so loose my arms just dislocate sometimes, just randomly. Because I've experienced it, I don't fear it at all. It's the people who haven't been arm-barred who have that fear.

On sex with fighters:

Hell no, I ain't gonna hook up with no fighter. I know these guys. They're like a sewing circle and everyone tells everyone everything.

On transitioning from Judo to MMA:

When I left judo and went into MMA, everyone was saying, "How's she gonna react to getting punched in the face?" And I was thinking, You don't understand. In judo, those girls would punch you straight in the face all the time. They'd pretend to go for a grip and just punch you. Grab you by the collar and hit you over and over again. If you watch the fight I lost at the Olympics, you'll see that girl punched me in the face twenty times. I know what it's like to get punched in the face. At this point, I'm conditioned to ignore it. I don't skip a beat.

For me, MMA is like speed chess. It's like I'm herding a person into a certain position. Say my endgame is an arm bar. I'm not gonna actually take you and put you there. What I'm going to do is convince you that it's a good idea to move in the direction I want you to go. And I'm going to keep on funneling you down until you've been narrowed to the option of tap or not.