Ronda Rousey may have lost her title at UFC 193 to Holly Holm, but her popularity remains. The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion was the most-searched athlete of the year according to data compiled by Yahoo, Polyvore, Flickr, and Tumblr.
Rousey fought four times in 2015. She filmed movies, starred in commercials, cut promotional videos, and went on a world tour to promote her UFC 190 grudge match against Bethe Correia. She finished the Brazilian in 34 seconds. The knockout win over Correia came on the heels of Rousey’s 14-second win over Cat Zingano in February. She released an autobiography in May. Rousey headlines were abundant in 2015.
RELATED > Conor McGregor’s Advice to Ronda Rousey?
Rousey was searched more times than Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. She generated more interest than NASCAR’s Danica Patrick and golf’s Tiger Woods.
“Everybody was shocked (when Rousey got knocked out). One hundred million people were talking about it on social media,” UFC president Dana White said Thursday on ESPN’s First Take. “And I actually think Ronda Rousey is bigger now after the loss than she was before the fight.”
Check out the top ten list of Yahoo’s most-searched athletes below.
1. Ronda Rousey
2. Lindsey Vonn
3. Maria Sharapova
4. Danica Patrick
5. Caroline Wozniacki
6. Tiger Woods
7. Floyd Mayweather
8. Manny Pacquiao
9. Ana Ivanovic
10. Hope Solo