Having spent some years of my life as a bouncer, I’ve seen my fair share of hard asses, but it’s a rare occasion that I happen upon someone with formal training. It’s even rarer an occasion that they’re women, but in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency, I was charged with the task of interviewing two of the most dangerous women on the planet. To pass them on the street, you wouldn’t guess they’d be able to break you in half, but in the ring, it’s a different story. A raised eyebrow was exchanged between my photographer and I when their publicist asked us, “You won’t need them to be around each other for the photo shoot for too long, right?” Barely making eye contact, they staled around the lobby like lionesses defending turf, and rightfully so. On March 3rd at Nationwide Arena, they’ll be battling it out for the women’s bantamweight title in a nationally televised Strikeforce event. The fighters took a break from their training schedules to chat with (614) about their ascent through the sport, the complications of being ladies in a traditionally masculine contest and their strategies to claim the title.

Ronda Rousey

Age: 24
Hometown: Venice, California
Background: Olympic Judo bronze medalist (first American athlete ever to win two Junior medals)
Why she’s deadly: Has defeated all her opponents in under 60 seconds

How did you get started in the sport?

My mom was a world champion in Judo in 1984. She was the first American ever to win the world championship in Judo. I started Judo when I was 11. By 17, I was in my first Olympic team. By 21, I won my Olympic medal, and now I’m 24, fighting for my first world title.

This sport has taken you all over the world, then.

I’ve been to over 30 different countries.

That’s quite a lot to accomplish by 24 years old.

Yeah, well, we have an over-achieving family, so I’m just trying to keep up.

You’ve gotta get pretty bruised up, even just from practicing, right?

I’ve got two black eyes right now. I just spent a lot of time covering them up with makeup.

How is it different fighting a woman than a man?

Men have a lot more balance in their shoulders. Women have much more of their balance in their hips. Women have stronger legs than men and more flexibility than men, so there’s definitely a different style between them. Women are more difficult to take down than some men are, and more difficult to submit because of their flexibility. They do have other weaknesses, too. Women aren’t as strong, so women’s fighting favors grappling more, in general.

Is it off-putting to say you’re a professional fighter to people who don’t know what you do?

Usually, they don’t believe me, so I show them my ear. [At this point, Ronda displays her left ear, which has been … altered, due to the nature of her line of work.] Then they have a lot of questions, and I usually oblige them.

Does what you do make it tough for you to date?

I think it makes dating easier, because I don’t have to deal with men that are easily intimidated.

What’s your strategy, going into this fight?

I leave a lot of things up to improvisation when I’m fighting. There’ve been a lot of fights that I’ve won, where I’ve made up a move that I’ve never done before or trained for before on the spot. I think that’s one of my best attributes as an athlete. I don’t need an exact stringent plan that someone’s given me. I just need a frame of ideas. I can’t say for sure what’s going to happen, but I know that I’m much more adaptable and a better athlete than [Tate] is.

What exactly does your training entail? Is this just like any nine-to-five job?

I have two to three practices a day, which are usually an hour and a half to two hours each. My conditioning is an hour, I’ve got wrestling, I’ve got grappling, I have striking and I teach, too. I think the best way to absorb new information is by teaching it. If I can get somebody else to do it effectively, then I feel like I truly understand it.

You’re known for ending your fights rather quickly.

I’ve had seven fights – four pro and three amateur – and the longest one of all seven was 57 seconds.

Wow.

I have a style that a lot of girls aren’t used to, and don’t know how to deal with. I’m much faster paced and I have quicker transitions than most of them are used to dealing with. Most of these girls aren’t Olympic-caliber athletes. They might think they’re prepared, they might think they have more experience, but they really have no idea.

Then you’d say your background as an Olympian gives you an edge in this competition?

[Tate] started wrestling when she was 15. I was already traveling around the world doing intense international Judo camps. On paper, it looks like she has more experience than I do, but from a practicality standpoint … her performances are so boring that when I’m scouting her matches, I have to take breaks. I can tell by the way that she fights that she’s nowhere near the level that I am. I think she’s overrated in every single way, and that’s probably going to be part of her downfall – her over-estimation of herself. I just feel like I have an accurate high self-esteem.

So, this fight coming up … are you going to win?

Of course I’m going to win.

Miesha Tate

Age: 25
Hometown: Olympia, Washington
Background: Began wrestling when she was 15 … on the men’s team
Why she’s deadly: Current Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight World Champion

Give me an idea of your background. How did you get into MMA?

I started wrestling when I was 15, on the men’s team. I found MMA shortly after that, so I’ve been doing that for about 6 years. If you count my amateur record, I’m 17-3, but as a professional, we typically just count our professional record. Mine is 12-2.

The term “champion” has a lot of weight to it. Do you think this fight is going to go differently than with previous opponents?

Ronda’s definitely going to be a test for me. She’s no slouch. She’s done great so far, but she’s pretty desperate in MMA fights to do what she’s been doing, because I feel that she’s only really good at that. She’s got Judo and her arm bar submission. I have the patience to go five five-minute rounds. I don’t know if she does. I’ve been in the championship rounds. I’ve been tested. I’ve had more fights than she has and a longer career in this sport, so I think I’ll have more of a well-rounded edge and more things that I can utilize in a fight that she has yet to come into on her own.

What kind of reaction do you get when you tell people that … well, that you professionally kick ass for a living?

Sometimes I get a pretty surprised reaction. If I’m on a plane, or something like that and we’re talking about careers, I tell them that I’m a professional athlete, and I figure they assume that I’m a volleyball or tennis player. Then I tell them that I fight for a living and I do mixed martial arts. That’s when I usually get a pretty surprised reaction, but usually they’re intrigued and fascinated.

Surely you get some pretty interesting looks at the grocery store if you’re shopping with bruises all over you.

Fortunately, I haven’t had a lot of bruising in my face. I don’t generally bruise or get banged up too often, but on occasion, you do get weird looks. People are looking at my boyfriend, like, “Did you beat her?” Sometimes, you just have to explain and they come to terms with it, or they think what they want. It’s just something that you deal with in the sport. I’m always proud to have a black eye. I kind of like to sport it. I very seldom cover them with makeup, because they’re my battle wounds, and part of the work that I put in.

What’s your strategy going into the fight to defend your title?

With a wrestling background, I know I’ll be unlike anyone Ronda has fought, and my balance is going to be a lot better. It’s going to be a lot harder for her to utilize her throws. What mostly separates Judo from wrestling is the Gee. They grab it, hold onto it, the friction is different. Wrestling has all the same throws, but we don’t have a Gee. We’re used to hooks, and we can do doubles and singles and things like that. For that reason, I feel wrestling is a better background to have in MMA than Judo. In the men’s division, it’s been wrestlers who’ve dominated the sport. That should help me a lot. She’s dropped [in weight class] and that’ll change the dynamics a bit.

Who’s gonna win this fight?

Well, me, of course. What a silly question.

Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey will take place at Nationwide Arena (200 W Nationwide Blvd.), March 3rd and will be broadcast live on Showtime. For more, see www.strikeforce.com.