Ronda Rousey Covers Men's Fitness Australia
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It's a good time to be Ronda Rousey. She recently made headlines for defeating Bethe Correia to retain the Ultimate Fighting Championship's Women's Bantamweight title in a fight that lasted just 34 seconds. ESPN Women recently voted Rousey the Best Female Athlete Ever, and now she is the first woman ever to grace the cover of Australia's Men's Fitness magazine:
"Thank you @mensfitnessau for making me the first woman on your cover!!" Rousey wrote on Instagram over the weekend.
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This isn't the first time the publication as a whole has put a woman on the cover. The American version of Men's Fitness previously placed Carmen Electra, Stacy Keibler, and Maria Menounos on covers—but this is a big moment for Rousey and Australia's version of the magazine nonetheless.
Rousey, who has been widely celebrated in the media lately for her fighting accolades and strong-willed spirit, received a lot of praise on social media for her cover. She also saw some backlash from commenters who felt a woman should not be on the cover of a men's publication.
"I am a fan of Rousy [sic] and been reading Men's Fitness for years but this is a mens [sic] magazine," one commenter wrote on the Australia Men's Fitness magazine Facebook page. "[W]e have had enough rights and say stripped away , bias against fellas in laws and politically correctness where equality in many avenues have become inequalities ... Now we have a Woman on a mens [sic] mag, maybe if she was with a male as a duo [it would be] acceptable."
Another commenter said there are plenty of gorgeous women in the publication's glossy pages and that one on the cover is unnecessary.
"There is enough hot females inside the mag and I know women who buy the men's mag for the food , excercise , [sic] artickes [sic] etc , maybe for the perve but I think its ridiculous to have a female solo on the cover," the commenter wrote.
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Late last month, UFC legend David "Tank" Abbott made sexist comments about Rousey during an appearance on the podcast "The Proving Ground." Rousey had recently claimed she could beat fighter Floyd Mayweather in a "no rules" match, but Abbott expressed doubt that she could do this as a female.
"She's a girl," he said. "It's all about this emotional stuff."
Earlier this year, Rousey took home the ESPY for Best Fighter of the Year. In February 2015, she beat Cat Zingano in a record-setting fight that lasted 14 seconds. According to the Bleacher Report, Rousey "broke the record for the quickest win in a UFC title fight and the record for the fastest submission win in UFC history."
