“Rowdy” Ronda Rousey is a fighter in and out of the cage. The former bantamweight champion is taking an active role in the environmentalist movement, aiding anti-Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protesters by bringing them food and supplies.
According to TMZ Sports, Ronda and her group, which also included judo athlete Pauline Macias, “brought fresh fruit, veggies, bread, tents and wood-burning stoves.”
@RondaRousey met Maske' Linda @lindablackelk My HEART is doing cartwheels ❤ #StandWithStandingRock #NoDAPL #NoKXL pic.twitter.com/JnTFAD6S4d
— Older & Wiser 🖤 (@JRose_WB) January 24, 2017
But that’s not all. Obviously no fan of sitting on the sidelines during a fight, Ronda told anti-DAPL protesters that she would return and “get pepper sprayed alongside everyone else.”
Anti-DAPL protesters did not simply take from Ronda without giving back, either. One of them, an anti-DAPL leader named Linda Black Elk, helped lift Ronda’s spirits. According to Black Elk, Ronda was still disappointed about her most recent loss to reigning Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes. The anti-DAPL leader, however, told her that what she was doing was incredibly important for the Native American community.
“She’s an incredible person and just so humble,” said Linda Black Elk.
This is not the first time Ronda Rousey has made her left-leaning political values known to the public. In a 2015 interview with Maxim, Rousey said she was voting for Bernie Sanders.
“I’m voting for Bernie Sanders, because he doesn’t take any corporate money. I don’t think politicians should be allowed to take money for their campaigns from outside interests.”
She also went on to say that if Bernie didn’t win, she’d vote for a third party.
“If he doesn’t win against Hillary, then I’ll probably vote for a third party again. To be honest, in 2012 I was against both candidates and so I just picked any third party because I thought if more people voted for third parties then they’d have to take third parties seriously.”
This is in stark contrast, of course, to her boss, UFC President Dana White, who not only endorsed Donald Trump, but praised the newly-sworn-in POTUS at the Republican National Convention.
No news yet on when or if Ronda Rousey will be back in action.
