Ronda Rousey might be new to Total Divas, but she's no rookie when it comes to wrestling.
The 32-year-old Olympic medalist and revered UFC champion joins the Divas cast in her second year with the WWE. If that sounds like a relatively short tenure at the organization (at least compared to some of her co-stars), know that Ronda has already made an impressive name for herself both in and out of the ring. So, let's get better acquainted, shall we?
Gearing up for the exciting debut of Total Divas' ninth season—set to premiere Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 10 p.m., on E!—we want to make sure fans are as prepared as possible to dive headfirst into Ronda's personal and professional ventures onscreen. And since her current stint at the WWE comes on the heels of a much lengthier athletic career and more than a decade in the public eye, we have lots to catch you up on.
Scroll through the photos below to learn all about Ronda before the upcoming Divas premiere!
Ronda became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo during the 2008 summer games in Beijing. She took home the bronze.
Ronda's Olympic triumph kick-started her mixed martial arts career, and she became the first female athlete to sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2012. Widely regarded as a trailblazer in the MMA and ultimate fighting arenas, she held the inaugural UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship title for three years and set the women's record for most UFC title defenses—ever!
Upon her eventual retirement in 2018, Ronda became the first woman in history inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Per a 2015 ESPN poll, Ronda was voted best female athlete of all time.
Ronda made her WWE debut at WrestleMania 34 in April 2018 and earned the Raw Women's Championship title (her first professional wrestling accolade) at SummerSlam later that year.
In October 2018, Evolution became the first WWE pay-per-view to feature a competition roster consisting solely of women's matches. Ronda defended her title as Raw Women's Champion after defeating Nikki Bella during the program's main event. The match (not to mention the very public heat between Ronda and Nikki that led up to it) played out during last season of Total Bellas.
Ronda competed against fellow WWE titleholders Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair during WrestleMania's first women's main event match in April 2019. Lynch was ultimately declared the winner, ending Ronda's 232-day term (the longest in WWE history) as Raw Women's Champion.
The combat sports world has been calling her "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey since the athlete's UFC days. She inherited the moniker from Canadian wrestler Roddy Piper, who personally approved of her taking on what was once his own ring name.
They tied the knot in Hawaii (Travis' home state) in August 2017. Total Divas audiences will see meet Ronda's stepsons Keawe Browne and Kaleo Brown during the show's upcoming season.
When she's not sharing wrestling snapshots with her growing social media following, Ronda is posting photos of her and Travis' sustainable home ranch, complete with a varied collection of farm animals and lovingly dubbed Browsey Acres.
In addition to its furry farm inhabitants (goats, chickens, ducks and a cow), Browsey Acres is home to a handful of domestic pets too. Earlier this year, Ronda vlogged about a stray dog she scooped up during a road trip and took home to the ranch. She named him Roadie.
Whether she's spending quality time with Browsey Acres' outside-only residents—she has shared several photos from inside the family goat pen with her Instagram following—or exploring national parks with her husband, Ronda is clearly a fresh air fan and a fun-loving one at that.
Ronda voices the character Sonya Blade in video game series Mortal Kombat's latest installation, released earlier this year.