UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has emerged as arguably the company's most bankable star, but the buildup to her UFC 170 fight with fellow Olympian Sara McMann has been low on the vitriol. Her weigh-in is set for tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET in Las Vegas, and can be live streamed by clicking this link.
Much of the talk coming from Rousey as UFC 170 approaches has either been focused on her rivalry with Miesha Tate, whom she vanquished for a second time at UFC 168, and her upcoming movie roles in Fast & Furious 7, and The Expendables 3.
Her rising celebrity status has led to concerns she might be taking the relatively unheralded McMann lightly. Rousey herself has acknowledged the elevated Q rating has been tough to acclimate to.
"If anything it's starting to feel normal," she says. "Even before, when I wasn't getting as much media attention for my fights, I was doing just as much work. I was just doing it on my own. I was spending hours a day on social media. I was trying to do every single interview I could-if it was somebody's blog or some random Joe's podcast. I was spending just as much time doing it, I just wasn't reaching as many people."
McMann is just as comfortable in the shadows as Rousey is in the limelight. "I don't think I would change who I was to sell a pay-per-view," McMann said. "I don't believe in that. If that means I'm not going to headline a pay-per-view, then you've got to pick your battles."
McMann is upfront about her all-business approach, and is only concerned with getting opponents to the mat and executing wrestling moves.
"There are enough stars throughout the entire (women's) division that some girls are going to create more attention," she said. "I don't think it has anything to do with who is the best fighter and who isn't. You don't need all your champions to be like that when you have a Chael Sonnen or a Ronda. They can generate attention regardless of whether they're champion or not."
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