She's perhaps the best-known fighter in mixed martial arts, not to mention one of the most celebrated athletes in professional sports generally. And now Ronda Rousey is the face of EA Sports UFC 2, taking center stage on the cover of the game while an unidentified male fighter stands in the shadows behind her.
Preach, EA.
"EA Sports is a cultural barometer to know what’s going on in sports at the moment," Rousey in a prepared statement. "As a gamer myself, it’s pretty surreal to be on the cover of the game and to have a woman on the cover of a UFC game shows a lot of progress. I’m really happy to be involved with it."
UFC 2 offers five new ways to play, including a mixed martial arts take on EA Sports' popular card-collecting "Ultimate Team" mode. There's also a revised Career mode that -- brace yourself -- allows players to tackle the Octagon as a female fighter for the first time.
Okay, fine, that's not so surprising.
Rousey is a UFC bantamweight champion, and she remains undefeated after 12 pro-level victories. "Rowdy" Rousey will defend her title on Saturday, Nov. 14 when she faces off against Holly Holm in UFC 193. It's a historic moment for the organization, with all-female world title bouts -- between Rousey/Holm and strawweight competitors Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Valérie Létourneau -- headlining the Pay-Per-View event for the first time.