Commentary

Meet Rowdy Ronda, the new Iron Mike

Let's all get rowdy. Ronda Rousey Rowdy.

Wow. Amazing. Simply the most exhilarating athlete in the world. All you male chauvinists better calm down. This lady can put the hurt on you.

Her last three fights in the Octagon have lasted an average of 21.33 seconds. Mic drop.

Her dominance and worldwide interest isn't a fad. Rousey has staying power for a lot of reasons beyond busting down all those dainty stereotypes about womenfolk. Check out the punches to the face and limb-crunching armbar.

The lady packs a punch, coupled with a personality and a story of perseverance that resonates worldwide.

Rousey lived in a 2005 Honda Accord LX when she returned from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games after winning a bronze in judo. Her 15 minutes of fame lasted about 30 seconds. She was unable to pay the rent and a security deposit on an apartment.

She recently sold her old car on eBay for $21,300, a very nice return on a car with over 150,000 miles and a bum transmission.

That's the star-power that Rousey brings. Her fan base stretches far beyond the millennials with their Instagram and Periscope accounts. Witness middle-aged guys like me -- the cassette-tape generation -- who stand in awe.

Other baby boomers may remember a similar knockout artist who mesmerized the nation: Guy by the name of Mike Tyson. Iron Mike. Early on his career, long before Twitter and Facebook and You Tube gave everyone instant access, Tyson's handlers did a very smart thing:

Jimmy Jacobs and Cus D'Amato sent boxing reporters VHS highlights of Tyson's early fights, many of them quick and efficient destruction of his opponents. People noticed, and the legend of Tyson grew exponentially with every fighter he dropped onto the canvas.

Ronda Rousey is the Mike Tyson of this generation.

She evokes awe, admiration, and not much ambivalence. You will likely love her, or hate her.

"I'm the heel, I'm the antihero," she said last year. "And I like it that way."

"I'm here with all my [bleeping] antagonists," Tyson once told a small group of reporters who walked into his condo in Maui. I tried not to flinch.

Neither wants to play nice.

Much like Tyson, she isn't going to engage all of her critics in conversation. Probably won't even give it a quick thought, much like her fights.

Rousey is 12-0 after knocking out Bethe Correia in 34 seconds late Saturday night in Brazil. She has now won nine of her fights by armbar submission and three fights by KO/TKO.

In a detailed blog breaking down the metrics, fivethirtyeight.com noted that Rousey has won her fights with 90 percent of the scheduled fight time remaining; only three of her fights have taken more than 66 seconds.

Tyson stopped his first 19 opponents, 12 of them in the first round.

Both elicit fear in opponents, the ultimate compliment for anyone competing in a blood sport.

"She has that killer aura, meaning anything is capable of happening," Tyson told The Associated Press in July. "Whoa! That's exciting before the fight even starts. I think of myself when I watch her."

I was fortunate enough to catch Tyson on both trajectories of his career, each with compelling narratives. I was ringside in Atlantic City, where Tyson faced Michael Spinks for the heavyweight championship of the world in 1988.

Spinks' fear entering the ring was visible ringside. The body language reflected the fear of a man who didn't want to be there. It took 91 seconds for Spinks to check out.

Rowdy Ronda Rousey is the new Iron Mike Tyson.

She whiffed on her first shot of fame after the Olympics. This shot at fame is going to last a lot longer than 15 minutes, which is a lot more time than her cumulative body of work in the Octagon.

Sports on 08/04/2015

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