7. Even While She Dominated, Rousey Branched Out
John Locher/AP/Press Association ImagesIt continually looks like Ronda Rousey will be the next Gina Carano... outside the ring. Like Carano, she is quickly becoming a cross-over star, only at a much, much higher level. Carano never had the benefit of being known as a dominant UFC champ. She never even got to fight in the UFC. It was Rousey who changed Dana White's mind about women fighting, and Rousey who (helped by the likes of Miesha Tate, Cat Zingano and others) broke the sport into the mainstream. The first few women's fights in the UFC consistently stole the show and won over fans, to the point that few critics are really left: it's clear the women have earned their place. Looking back, it's sort of silly that there was ever a debate. The thing is, Rousey now has a secure legacy. She helped break the sport out into the mainstream. She got WMMA into the UFC. She has become the most dominant female fighter in MMA history. And it's much easier, and possibly more lucrative, to film movies like The Expendables 3 and Fast and Furious 7 than it is to fight in the UFC octagon. Dana White should be really, really concerned that he might lose yet another of his biggest draws, thanks to the movie roles Rousey branched out into this past year.