Sara McMann
Olympic Result: Silver, 2004
One of Ronda Rousey’s challengers in the UFC, Sara McMann actually found greater success than the bantamweight champ when it came to amateur athletics. Four year’s prior to Rousey claiming bronze in Beijing, McMann won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Her medal came in the 63kg division in Freestyle wrestling; Kaori Icho of Japan earned gold.
McMann made the jump to MMA in 2011, taking some regional bouts then landing a single fight in Invicta FC before signing with the UFC as an undefeated, 6-0 bantamweight. Just one win in the promotion was all it took for McMann to secure a title shot against the seemingly impenetrable Rousey in 2014, and it did not go well: “Rowdy” put away her fellow Olympian in just over a minute, with a TKO rather an her patented arm-bar.
Unlike Rousey, however, McMann remains active in mixed martial arts to this day, wrapping up her UFC run with a win over Karol Rosa in 2022, and going 1-1 for Bellator MMA as a featherweight after signing there the following year.
