Ronda Rousey’s boxing has sharpened significantly after training with her new coach, AJ Matthews, but she selected Matthews for the role based on one of his ground-level skills, instead of looking for a shining resume.

Besides preparing for the Gina Carano fight scheduled for May 16, Rousey has also been sharing glimpses of her training with her followers through Instagram videos. A similar post from 'Rowdy' on March 7 disclosed that it was the UFC lightweight, Justin Gaethje, who played the catalyst behind her association with Matthews.

Rousey's coach revealed that his affirmative answer to Gaethje's, "Can you wrap hands?" got him shortlisted for the role. However, it was confirmed after he successfully wrapped Rousey's hands in a "coughing fit" style.

Initially, Ronda was quite skeptical about him being her trainer, as she didn’t have much faith in him. Recalling their first interaction, she said, “And then he puts all these goggles on, like, this is a stupid scene. So I was a little hesitant to have some trust issues in the beginning.”

But the bet certainly paid off. Later, when they were working out in Vegas, she realized that Matthews was the real deal. She revealed, “He came out to Vegas for one of my first sparring sessions. We'd been practicing something, and he asked me to do it."

Rousey's comments also clarified that Matthews appreciated one of her moves, saying she "cracked this c**** right in the head," which made her go, "Okay. I like this guy."

Well, it’s been some time since they started training together, and Rousey is confident about her victory in her fight against Carano. She knows what's at stake.

Ronda Rousey Provides A Superlative Title To Her Fight Against Gina Carano

Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano appeared at Intuit Dome on Tuesday for the pre-fight face-offs. While Carano expressed her gratitude for the match, Rousey went fiery on the mic and dubbed the encounter "the biggest fight in MMA right now.”

She further added, “There are no two people in this sport with more international name recognition than me and Gina, except Conor (McGregor), but no one is going to sanction that. This isn’t a charity card. This isn’t a throwback, nostalgia card. This is the biggest fight in the sport right now, and it needed to happen now.”

Well, the pre-fight hype about the encounter says that Rousey's comments may not be too far from reality.

But while 'Rowdy' selected her coach, Matthews, looking at such a basic skill, do you think the same coach's efforts will earn her the W in what she dubbed the "biggest fight in MMA"?

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Souvik Roy