The hype train isn’t slowing down any time soon.
Fresh off her spectacular and equally brutal knockout win over Bethe Correia this past weekend at UFC 190 in Brazil, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey has reportedly landed yet another movie deal.
This time, the spotlight will be focused solely on her, and not a cast of action celebs.
According to Variety, the UFC women’s bantamweight champion will be starring as herself in an adaption of My Fight/Your Fight, the New York Times best-selling book written by Rousey and her younger sister, Maria Burns Ortiz.
Both Paramount Pictures and Mark Bomback are on board, with Mary Parent as the producer. Bomback is a screenwriter famous for such films as The Wolverine, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Unstoppable, while Parent’s most recent work includes Pacific Rim, Noah, Godzilla and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.
Rousey is no stranger to the big screen, either. When she isn’t dismantling foes in 34 seconds, the combat sports juggernaut lends her services to Hollywood, having appeared as herself in Entourage, and scored roles inThe Expendables 3 and Furious 7.
Published by ReganArts, Rousey’s book chronicles her life as the first woman from the United States to win a medal in Judo in 2008 to joining boxing trainer Edmond Tarverdyan at his Glendale Fight Club gym on the way to UFC glory, and everything in between. Rousey’s path hasn’t been an easy one, struggling with depression and substance abuse after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and also losing her father to suicide at a young age.
Bomback has just started the project, so there’s no set date when it comes to production. Rousey is already focusing on two other future film projects, too, which include Mile 22 and The Athena Project.
It may be rare for an athlete to star in their own biopic, yet Rousey has accomplished feats that seem impossible. The 12-0 mixed martial artist has never gone the distance in her fighting career, finishing every opponent in spectacular fashion (usually submitting them via armbar). She’s spent only 1:04 in the cage during her last three fights and, in 2015, Rousey became the recipient of two ESPY Awards (Best Fighter and Best Female Athlete), and made a cameo at WWE’s WrestleMania 31 this past spring alongside one of pro-wrestling’s all-time greats and fellow actor, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
She’s the UFC’s biggest star at the moment, which is amazing considering she’s already included the elite class as previous PPV draws like Chuck Liddell and Georges St-Pierre at just 28 years old. It’s safe to say no other female athlete on the planet is making waves like “Rowdy,” no matter the sport.
