Superstar Ronda Jean Rousey is the full package, according to UFC president Dana White.
The 28-year-old is arguably the best fighter on the mixed martial arts planet. She recently beat Brazilian Bethe Correia in 34 seconds at her own game with a strike to the temple that knocked her out.
Rousey's usual approach in the octagon is to use grappling techniques, learnt from her judo days, that cause her opponents to pass out or submit. In fairness to Correia, she did last longer than Rousey's last two opponents, Alexis Davis (16 seconds) and Cat Zingano (14 seconds).
Rousey's dominance of the octagon is undisputed. She has a fourth-degree black belt in judo and has been MMA fighting since 2011. In that short timeframe she has won all 12 of her fights, three by knockout and nine by submission.
Now fight/event organisers struggle to find anyone who can put up a good fight against her. But this is not the whole story and fails to explain why Rousey is fast becoming an iconic athlete. Rousey's package is more than mere athletic ability and dominance of her sport.
She had a great back story and comes from ''good stock'', with her judoka mother, AnnMaria De Mars, acting as the perfect role model as a world judo champion, scholar and leader.
With her mother's words ringing in her ears and her social media columnist sister Marian Burns Ortiz advising her, Rousey uses social media cleverly to build up a loyal (and obsessed) following, celebrity supporters and drama.
As a result, she has a public persona that aligns well with modern-day portrayals of women as lead protagonists and far from wallflowers.
What makes her an intriguing study of feminism in action is how she manages her ''image'' and ''character''. She is strong, uncompromising, psychotically competitive and extremely committed to her MMA craft.
She is unapologetic when it comes to doing what she needs to do to win and dominate other women. She also fights with words and doesn't hesitate to give the likes of Floyd Mayweather and bodyshamers a taste of her verbal smackdown.
It is a breath of fresh air to hear a female athlete speak her mind and do it in a colourful and unrepentant way. Her prose and style is reminiscent of the way Muhammad Ali used to impress and influence with his wit.
She is the full package from a promoter's/sponsor's perspective because she can ''do feminine'' well when she has to and often knocks them over on the red carpet, styles her long hair, and wears make-up and smiles at the most strategic and opportune times.
Just when the feminists start to suggest that she is succumbing to social pressures to appear more feminine, she'll go and prove she is still challenging the system.
During a public talk, she mentioned ''I'm only 135 pounds [61kg] for several hours a year'', so when she gets asked to pose for sports magazines she will only do it at her ''normal/healthy'' weight rather than the emaciated weight she has to have as a bantamweight.
When ''doing feminine'' she looks very similar to Jennifer Lawrence, who, coincidentally, plays the main warrior character in the Hunger Games, and both have inspired a whole new generation of young women to be more assertive, proactive and strong.
Men who like athletic and strong-willed women find her irresistible; others find her too masculine. Women either want to be like her or hate her for making them feel like ''do nothing b@#*hs'', and yet we can't help but admire her.
Each to their own. Femininity and masculinity exist on a continuum and they are not mutually exclusive ''labels''. Very few people exist at the extremes and most people have a combination of both masculine and feminine traits, personalities and mind-sets.
Female athletes like Serena Williams and Ronda Rousey are successful in today's sports world because they know they must balance the way they are portrayed to appeal to both men and women.
Ronda Rousey knows which gendered role to play at any given time, and that makes her the whole package in and out of the cage. Now anyone who wants to argue with her face-to-face or via social media - go for it. Expect to be knocked out or subdued.
