UFC star Ronda Rousey has her sights set on eternal glory: 'I want to be mentioned along with Mike Tyson...and I don't want the word woman to be in front of champion' 

• UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is undoubtedly the franchise's biggest draw and has spoken as part of a stunning photoshoot
• The 28-year-old has won all 12 of her professional MMA bouts 
• Rousey first rose to prominence as an Olympic judoka
• She has set her sights on becoming an all-time sporting great

By Rohan Banerjee For Mailonline

Published: 18:12 EST, 20 October 2015 | Updated: 05:12 EST, 22 October 2015

Fierce fighter and feminist icon Ronda Rousey has set her sights on taking up a place among sport's pantheon of all-time greats, but does not want her gender to define her.   

In a reveal-all interview with SELF Magazine, the 28-year-old UFC bantamweight champion said: 'I want my name to be mentioned along with Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali,' and added, 'I don't want the word woman to be in front of champion.'

Rousey, who was born in California, first shot to prominence at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where she represented the Untied States in Judo. 

UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey strikes a stunning pose in an edition of SELF Magazine 

A bikini-clad Rousey poses on the cover of SELF's edition, which carries a reveal-all interview with her  

At just 17 years old, she became the youngest ever judoka to compete at that level and four years later at the 2008 Games in Beijing, Rousey earned a bronze medal.  

She turned professional as a mixed martial artist in March 2011, before becoming the first ever female fighter to sign with UFC in November 2012. 

Rousey has since gone on to establish herself as the franchise's main draw and as bantamweight champion boasts an undefeated 12-0 record, with three victories by knockout and nine by submission. 

To date, none of her UFC bouts have lasted beyond five minutes.

Probed by SELF as to what it's like to sit peerless at the top, Rousey revealed how she felt that her hard work was finally being rewarded. 

Rousey has established herself as UFC's biggest draw and is undefeated in 12 professional MMA bouts

None of Rousey's MMA opponents have managed to last beyond the first-round with her  

Rousey celebrates after her victory over Cat Zingano at UFC 184 in Los Angeles, California in February

'It's motivating, because it's something I have to keep earning,' she said. 'When I was a kid, all I did was train. I never went to a dance. I never had a date. I never went to a single party. Training was my whole life.

She continued: 'If I say that I'm the best in the world, sometimes people think that's really cocky and arrogant, but I had to work hard to be able to believe in myself. In your teens, you become super-self conscious. I had to build that up.'

Rousey's last three fights have lasted a combined total of one minute and 14 seconds. Her next is against Holly Holm at UFC 193 on November 15.  

Rousey shows off her UFC bantamweight title at a judo school in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil back in August

Rousey poses with her silver medal alongside other competitors in the 70kg category at the World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro in 2007

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