Ronda Rousey named Fedor Emelianenko as her MMA GOAT even though he never fought in the UFC.
Rousey held a professional record of 12-2 as an MMA fighter competing both in the UFC and Strikeforce, touching gloves with the likes of Amanda Nunes, Holly Holm and Miesha Tate.
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'Rowdy' left an important legacy in the cage and has become somewhat of a superstar having also competed in WWE, working with some of combat sports' biggest names.
But the 37-year-old left no doubt when naming Emelianenko as the greatest fighter in the history of MMA over the likes of Conor McGregor, Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre.
McGregor is the biggest name in mixed martial arts today and in 2016 became the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts at the same time when he beat Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight belt having already won the featherweight title.
St-Pierre, meanwhile, is regarded as one of the greatest welterweights in history and defended his belt nine times. Jones, though, appears at the top of many people's lists when discussing the so-called greatest of all time.
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Speaking to talkSPORT's MMA channel, Rousey, though, had one name in mind when asked about her 'GOAT. "I think Fedor, dude, his time had it all.
"He had a relationship with judo, too and I am a big nerd for judo and Sambo is basically Russian judo.
"I've got to say too, him vs [Mirko Cro Cop] is my favourite MMA match of all-time."
Rousey was then asked how 'The Last Emperor' would fare against UFC heavyweight champion Jones, to which she replied: "Dude, Jones wouldn't even have to train.
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"That is the most Jon Jones thing ever. He'd get off of a boat from the Bahamas and go in there to win.
"God damn it, I trained my a** off and Jon Jones just showed up and won."
Ronda Rousey reveals she had concussion problems during her career and admits that she hid her medical issues from the UFC
Emelianenko is considered the most prominent name to have never fought in the UFC, having first begun his career as a dominant four-year champion in PRIDE from 2003 to 2007.
He then fought under the Strikeforce banner and a host of other MMA promotions before UFC CEO Dana White pursued his signature.
Negotiations never did come off with Emelianenko, who was twice offered a showdown with Brock Lesnar, but the Russian's team demanded it was in a co-promotion with M1 Global which the UFC refused.
The champion came out a brief retirement in 2015 before signing with Bellator in 2017 where he competed for six years until 2023, facing the likes of Chael Sonnen and Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson.
He famously lost in his heavyweight title shot to Ryan Bader in 2019, suffering a brutal first-round stoppage and failing to pick up the vacant title.
The 47-year-old is now in full retirement after his rematch with Bader ended in another defeat in 2023, but has left an incredible legacy in MMA despite never walking out as a UFC fighter.
As for Rousey, she's also done with fighting forever.
The former bantamweight champion recently revealed that her MMA career was plagued by a spate of concussions that she hid from the UFC bosses.
Before her 'secret' health revelation, fans were hopeful that she would return to the Octagon for the first time since losing to Nunes in December 2016.
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White ruled out Rousey returning at UFC 300, and now she's closed the door on a MMA return for good by revealing all in her recently released memoir 'Our Fight.'
Ronda Rousey's full interview with talkSPORT is now available to watch on our MMA YouTube channel.
