Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/341570
ByGregBeacham
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES
Ronda
Rousey is constructing her
escape hatch out of mixed
martial arts, even if she's
not planning to use it just
yet.
The UFC bantamweight
champion has turned her
celebrity and charisma
into a budding career as an
action film
star. Many
MMA fight-
ers dream
about it, but
Rousey is
actually do-
ing it: With
up c om i n g
parts in "The
Expendables
3," the newest "Fast and Fu-
rious" chapter and the "En-
tourage" movie, she's seek-
ing success outside the cage
even while her fighting ca-
reer is near its peak.
Rousey has little down
time between Bulgarian
film sets and endless train-
ing back home in Los Ange-
les, but she isn't looking to
relax while her window of
opportunity is open.
"There's really not much
of a model for this," Rousey
said. "I'm making it up
as I go along, and I think
we're really starting to find
a groove and a way for it
to work without me fall-
ing asleep in traffic again.
That's not good."
When Rousey (9-0)
makes her fourth title de-
fense against Alexis Davis
at UFC 175 on Saturday, she
isn't the main event in the
biggest show of the sum-
mer. Rousey honestly pre-
fers sharing the bill at big
events, this time with mid-
dleweight champion Chris
Weidman's title defense
against Lyoto Machida.
On the big screen, Rousey
won't always be satisfied
with occasional supporting
roles. She wants to be a star,
preferably in a series of ac-
tion adventures that could
keep her occupied well af-
ter her MMA career ends.
"One of my goals with the
whole movie thing is I want
to just be able to have my
own franchise, and I feel like
that's something that doesn't
happen overnight," Rousey
said. "That's something you
have to put a lot of thought
into. Yeah, it would prob-
ably be extremely difficult
for me to play Queen Eliza-
beth in some film, but I feel
like a franchise is a great fit
for me, because then I could
find something that just fits
me being myself. And then I
would just have to continue
to be myself, and I know I'm
good at that."
For all of Rousey's out-
side interests and attention,
her last two months have
been focused on Davis (16-
5), a Canadian expert in jiu-
jitsu with a five-fight win-
ning streak. Rousey is an
enormous favorite, but she
has yet to take an opponent
lightly in the sport she took
up professionally just over
three years ago.
"My sister is getting mar-
ried, and the whole day I'm
going to be thinking about
beating Alexis," Rousey
said. "Anything that comes
up that should make me su-
per-excited, I really do not
have the capacity to enjoy
until I beat Alexis."
Rousey made back-to-
back films in 2013, but her
bout with Davis is her third
fight in just over six months.
She has enjoyed the chance
to get into a training groove
after learning that ring
rust is real when she re-
turned in December from
that 10-month absence and
mildly struggled to finish
off Miesha Tate.
But Rousey showed a
tough chin in that bout, and
her tight schedule has kept
her focused on improving
the weaker aspects of her
game. Rousey's Olympic-cal-
iber judo skills and signature
armbar submission hold are
still vicious, yet her coaches
are impressed by her im-
provements in striking.
In the future, Rousey
would prefer to fight twice
per year, devoting the rest
of her time to a film ca-
reer. She also still dreams
of a fight against Gina
Carano, another rising ac-
tor whose MMA career in-
spired Rousey.
UFC 175
Rousey goes from set
to cage with charisma
Bantamweight champion has turned celebrity into budding career in films
ISAACBREKKEN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE
In this Feb. 22photo, Ronda Rousey prepares for a UFC 170mixed martial arts women's
bantamweight title fight against Sara McMann in Las Vegas.
Rousey
years, another Canadian,
Milos Raonic, will try join
Bouchard as a finalist. The
men's semifinals today are
old guard vs. new guard
matchups: seven-time
champion Roger Federer
against Raonic, and top-
seeded Novak Djokovic
against Grigor Dimitrov.
As of now, the 24-year-
old Kvitova is the only
man or woman born in
the 1990s to win a Grand
Slam title. If Bouchard be-
comes the second, she also
would be the youngest ma-
jor champion since Maria
Sharapova was 19 at the
2006 U.S. Open.
"It's what I've worked so
long for," Bouchard said,
without a hint of irony.
Yes, Bouchard is clearly
in a hurry — and, by the
looks of her muted post-
victory reaction, didn't ap-
pear all that thrilled to get
past the third-seeded Ha-
lep, who twisted her ankle
in the early going and got
it taped by a trainer.
"I feel like my job is not
done here," Bouchard said,
"so there's no need for a
huge celebration."
Taking the ball early
while standing at the base-
line, ending points quickly
with flat groundstrokes,
she reached the semifinals
at the Australian Open and
French Open this year be-
fore losing to the eventual
champions.
"I totally feel like I be-
long," Bouchard said.
Halep led 3-2 in the tie-
breaker when chair um-
pire Kader Nouni noticed
something was wrong
with a woman in a lower-
tier seat — it was the
warmest day of the tourna-
ment, topping 75 degrees
— and waved both play-
ers to the sideline. After a
four-minute break, Halep
went ahead 4-2. But on the
next point, Bouchard hit a
net-cord winner — "a lucky
ball," Halep called it.
Bouchard took four of
the next five points, too,
closing the set with a
swinging forehand volley.
"I lost, a little bit, my
concentration," Halep ac-
knowledged.
Her opponent did not.
"She's pretty calm, al-
ways composed," said
Bouchard's mother, Julie
Leclair, who sat two seats
away from Bouchard's pal,
"Big Bang Theory" actor
Jim Parsons, in the play-
er's guest box.
"She's been working for
this since she was 4 years
old," Leclair said. "She just
goes out every day, trying
to be the best she can be."
Bouchard's first match
point came while ahead
5-1 in the second set, and
Halep serving at 15-40. A
fan yelled, Bouchard tried
to call time and let her
guard down, allowing Ha-
lep to hit an 81 mph ace.
Bouchard tried to per-
suade Nouni to let them
replay the point, but he
didn't. Two more match
points came and went in
that game.
Bouchard converted her
sixth match point.
Tennis
FROM PAGE 1
BEN CURTIS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic plays a return
to Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic during their
women's singles semifinal match Thursday at the All
England Lawn Tennis Championships in London.
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