Throughout her accomplished career, Ronda Rousey inspired and empowered a lot of women. She was the first female superstar of the UFC and single-handedly revived women MMA. Kay Hansen was once one of those girls looking at Rousey and aspiring to be like her. And in her first UFC fight, she delivered. After a mostly observative performance, she cracked the code in the third round and finished Jinh Yu Frey with a slick armbar, Rousey’s signature move.
After the fight, Rousey tweeted at Hansen:
Congratulations 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 looking forward to seeing more from you! Nice armbar 😉 https://t.co/or5nwIgNgr
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) June 27, 2020
At 2️⃣0️⃣ years old!@KayHansenMMA with nerves of steel in her debut!
📺 Action continues on @ESPN pic.twitter.com/5UyCmI7skU
— UFC (@ufc) June 27, 2020
Hansen, who took the fight on six days notice is now the second-youngest fighter in the roster. She suffered a few cuts during the fight and will now be under a medical suspension, but she has made a name for herself.
“I’ve been getting stitched up this whole time, so I haven’t even had a chance to even look at my phone yet, but that’s awesome – veterans supporting young guns,” Hansen said afterward. “It’s all a cycle, and there’s going to be little girls under me one day, and I think it’s great that we support each other that way.”
Another interesting story revolving around her fight was the $37000 bet placed on her that earned the bettor $20000. It was reported by Darren Rovell.
A $37,000 bet was just placed at @BetMGM sportsbook at MGM Grand in Vegas on Kay Hansen to beat Jinh Yu Frey in the women’s strawweight fight tonight. Would win $20,000. pic.twitter.com/R2i4Qgaekd
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 27, 2020
“I don’t know who did it, but that’s a lot of money to bet on someone making their UFC debut,” she said. “But congrats, I guess. … It didn’t put any pressure on me because that’s your choice. I’m not responsible for fulfilling that, but it is cool to see people putting that kind of faith in me.”
