UFC Champ Ronda Rousey Inks Her First Major Apparel Sponsorship
Buffalo David Bitton and Ronda Rousey on Thursday announced that the UFC women's bantamweight champion is the brand's first and only woman to represent Buffalo Pro.
“It’s such an amazing opportunity to be able to represent Buffalo Pro,” Rousey said via press release. “Not only am I the first female they’ve ever had representing the campaign, but it’s the first time any MMA fighter has done any type of fashion thing at all.
“I feel really honored to be taking the first steps into this industry. I never had the confidence when I was younger to dress well, and avoided any type of fashion and femininity, and I’m enjoying the chance to embrace it at this point in my life.”
SEE ALSO: Ronda Rousey's First Photo Shoot for Apparel Sponsorship (Video)
Not only is Rousey the first woman to represent Buffalo Pro, but conversely, Buffalo Pro is also Rousey's first major apparel sponsor. It was a conscious decision on Rousey's part to wait for the right opportunity.
“I purposefully have been holding out a long time on the apparel side of sponsorship. It was worth giving up lots of money that had been offered to me in order to pick exactly the right sponsor at the right time,” Rousey told Women's Wear Daily.
“Buffalo Pro was the perfect thing because they never had a woman, and there had never been any MMA athlete who had a sponsored fashion deal at all. So, I was excited to jump all over it. I got so many cool clothes. I was looking around and said to my roommate the other day, ‘Jesus Christ, why haven’t I gotten a fashion sponsorship sooner?'”
Rousey is scheduled to return to the Octagon at UFC 184 on Feb. 28 in Los Angeles, where she will put her bantamweight championship on the line against Cat Zingano.
SEE ALSO: Rousey vs. Zingano Joins Weidman vs. Belfort at UFC 184
