Asked which retired athlete she would most like to see return at their peak, Ronda Rousey had a clear answer ready.

Ahead of her most anticipated fight with Gina Carano, Rousey took some time off to answer some important questions. The UFC megastar recently sat down with Complex Sports to compare some retired athletes and who would dominate sports today if they were in their prime.

When given a choice between Usain Bolt and Serena Williams, Rousey chose Williams, saying Serena can be 'enjoyed all afternoon.' It was another easy choice for her between Williams and Michael Phelps, where the 39-year-old chose Williams again. According to Rousey, before becoming a judo legend, she was a swimmer and didn't enjoy the sport.

But the options became tough for her when she was asked to choose between the tennis star and boxing legend Mike Tyson. Rousey eventually decided on Tyson.

"This is the one that I would have to step back and say that Mike Tyson," she said. "It's completely unparalleled, in any other sport, and not just how he performed, but how he was. It's why at 60, he's still breaking records for the most viewed fight of all time because people miss that."

It went on for a while with Rousey, and she chose Tyspn over athletes like Derek Jeter, Tom Brady, and even NBA legend Michael Jordan.

"I can't even think of a single person I would rather see come back in their prime than Mike Tyson," she made her views very clear.

The discussion was finally settled when she chose Muhammad Ali over the three-time champion, a decision that even Tyson himself would likely support.

"Oh god, maybe the only one I would rather see come back in their prime than Mike Tyson. Maybe it would be Muhammad Ali. Yeah, Mike Tyson just has the je ne sais quoi, but so does Muhammad Ali."

Tyson’s influence on Rousey runs deep, with the boxing legend serving as a key reason behind her comeback to the ring.

How Mike Tyson Inspired Ronda Rousey’s Comeback?

In one of her interviews with Complex News, Rousey discussed everything from her career to her retirement and her much-awaited comeback. And during the discussion, she revealed that Tyson’s comeback played a major role in her return to MMA after nearly a decade of retirement.

“I think a big thing was Mike Tyson making his comeback at nearly 60, being the most viewed combat sports event of all time," she said. "And so I kind of put it in my mind that like that wasn't a nostalgia fest, that was people missed something that he brought.”

This Saturday, May 16, Rousey and Carano will square off at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, in one of the most anticipated women’s MMA fights ever.

Rousey will be fighting for the first time in nearly a decade, while Carano has been away from MMA since 2009. As the big fight approaches, Mike Tyson’s influence continues to serve as motivation for Ronda Rousey.

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Written by

Ruwa Javed

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar