'Rowdy' Ronda Rousey will dedicate her fight against Bethe Correia at UFC 190 tonight to late professional wrestling legend 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper, who she took her moniker from.
Piper, who headlined the first-ever WrestleMania in a tag-team match alongside Paul Orndoff against Hulk Hogan and Mr. T, died aged 61 yesterday from a cardiac arrest.
UFC bantamweight champion and huge wrestling fan Rousey became friends with Piper after he gave her his blessing to use his nickname. She appeared on Piper's podcast recently.
Rousey posted the following on Instagram after the news of Piper’s passing, with the caption: "Thank you for the name…. And so much more…. Will do it justice and do you proud tomorrow…. This one’s for you Roddy…."
The undefeated Rousey heads into tonight's grudge match an overwhelming favourite, Correia will have the home fans behind her with UFC 190 taking place in the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies