If you're going to choose someone's footsteps to follow in then someone who changed the face of a sport and put women's UFC on the map is probably not a bad place to start. Australia taekwondo medal hope Carmen Marton is hoping to follow Ronda Rousey.
Rousey won bronze in judo at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing before moving over to MMA in 2010 and getting her first fight in the UFC in 2013 and Marton wants to follow the superstar by winning a medal in Rio and then becoming a future MMA fighter in the UFC.
The 30 year old just missed out on a medal in London four years ago but did win World Championship gold a year later in Mexico, beating Kim Hwi-lang in the lightweight final. She revealed she's already spoken to partner Safwan Khalil, another medal hopeful for Rio, about moving sport after The Games,
Advert
"A lot of the UFC fighters learn their kicks from taekwondo and it's a great opportunity for female fighters. I've definitely considered it. Saf says if I win gold then maybe I can do UFC.
"I don't think he's in a rush to see me have a bloody face like the other girls but in terms of a platform to get more exposure globally, to get paid for being a professional fighter that would be amazing. Something that's sitting there at the back of my mind - I'd love to be able to cross over to UFC after Rio."
Marton spoke about her love of the mixture of combat sports in MMA adding, "It's really interesting because Holly [Holm] comes from a boxing background, Ronda is an Olympic athlete in judo - and to bring all those martial arts in to create an ultimate fighter, I find it really exciting."
Advert
After Rousey's success there could be more and more athletes making the move.
(Via Fox Sports)
Featured Image Credit:Topics: olympics, 2016 Olympics, UFC, Ronda Rousey