‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey Dedicates UFC 190 Title Defense To ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has dedicated her fight on Saturday in Brazil to “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, the man who gave female athlete her name. Piper was one of Rousey’s favorite professional wrestlers. She was trained by “Judo” Gene Lebell, who also worked with Piper on judo training. Piper died Friday morning at 61. He was regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.

Thank you for the name…. And so much more…. Will do it justice and do you proud tomorrow…. This… https://t.co/FQUqZEVh0Q

— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) August 1, 2015

Rousey will defend her UFC championship against Bethe Correia at UFC 190. Rousey is the big favorite to successfully defend the title and then rematch with her No. 1 rival Miesha Tate. Piper headlined the first WrestleMania and enjoyed a run as one of wrestlings top heels in 1985. He was one of the first professional wrestlers to leave the sport to pursue acting, earning critical acclaim in the John Carpenter science fiction move “They Live.”