Ronda Rousey Endorses Bernie Sanders, Third Party Over Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton

Despite Donald Trump’s claim that Ronda Rousey likes him, the undefeated UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion recently came out in support of the self-proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders. And if Bernie Sanders can’t beat Hillary Clinton to win the Democratic Party’s primary, Rousey says she will likely vote for a third party candidate.

Bernie Sanders now has Ronda Rousey in his corner https://t.co/jyO2hmMq2Z pic.twitter.com/HkF4QMM3j1

— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) November 10, 2015

In an interview with Maxim, Rousey explains what specifically appeals to her about Virginia’s Senator 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.”

An endorsement for a candidate who advocates socialism and socialist ideas may seem counter-intuitive for someone making the kind of money that Ronda Rousey makes. As Forbes recently reported, Rousey earned $6.5 million in 2015 alone, making her the eighth-highest-paid female athlete in the world. Considering one of the most popular criticisms of Sanders’ economic ideas is the fact that the rich would see a significant increase in taxes, Rousey’s decision doesn’t appear to be one made in self-interest.

Ronda Rousey explains why she’s voting for Bernie Sanders https://t.co/FYoJGN5Wl3

— Bleacher Report MMA (@BR_MMA) November 11, 2015

With Bernie Sanders’ socialist ideals so far to the left, the odds of him surpassing Hillary Clinton are not good. But Ronda Rousey isn’t loyal to the Democratic Party by any means. In fact, if Senator Sanders doesn’t win the primary, Rousey doesn’t see herself supporting Clinton — or any of the other Democratic candidates. If she can’t vote for Sanders, Rousey is voting third party. In the same interview, she explained the philosophy that lead her to vote for Roseanne Barr in the 2012 Presidential election.

“If [Sanders] 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… I voted for Roseanne last time. Mostly I went in to vote for all the state and local things. I was so unimpressed with the whole presidential campaign that I picked whatever third party I saw, and I saw Roseanne and thought, ‘That’s awesome.’ But I’m really pulling for Sanders this time. I hope it works out.”

Where does Donald Trump fit into all of this? As Mediaite reported back in August, Donald Trump brought up Ronda Rousey when discussing women in the military. After saying some women could serve because “some of them are really, really good” at it, he wanted to show that tough women like Donald Trump.

The awkward quote went something like this.

“I know some women are just — Ronda Rousey is an example — who likes me. I’d take her on my side as a fighter.”

However, in an interview with CNN shortly thereafter, Rousey denied any political support for the Donald whatsoever. Once again, Rousey shows her genuine interest in America’s next leader.

“I mean, I wouldn’t vote for [Donald Trump]. I just really wouldn’t trust the guy with running my country, that’s all. I’m not really going to get into specifics of it, but, I mean, I don’t want a reality TV star to be running my country.”

Ronda Rousey’s next MMA fight will be the headliner at UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm on Sunday, where she will defend her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship against Holly Holm, available exclusively on pay-per-view. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will both be a part of the next Democratic debate this Saturday on CNN. Donald Trump will likely be a part of the next GOP presidential debate, scheduled for December 15 in Nevada.

[Image credit Austin Buckner/Facebook and Jeff Gross/Getty Images]