Fellow Horsewomen Marina Shafir, Jessamyn Duke join Ronda Rousey in WWE
By Mike Heck
The final two Fellow Horsewomen of MMA, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke, join UFC veterans Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler in WWE.
It’s official: MMA’s Four Horsewomen are all in the WWE stable.
According to WWE.com, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir have joined fellow Horsewomen Ronda Rousey and Shayna Bazler in the world of sports entertainment. World Wrestling Entertainment announced that both Shafir and Duke made their way to the WWE Performance Institute in Orlando, Fla. to begin training.
The 5’11,” Duke began her professional MMA career in July 2012 with back-to-back finishes and a No Contest before competing on season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter. Rousey, who was one of the coaches alongside rival Miesha Tate, selected Duke and have remained close ever since. “The Gun” went on to win her opening round bout against Laura Howarth with a first-round submission before losing to Raquel Pennington, eliminating her from the tournament.
To date, Duke’s last victory came at the TUF 18 Finale in November 2013, defeating Peggy Morgan by unanimous decision. She would go on to lose her final mixed martial arts fights, three in the UFC and the final two for Invcita FC, including a first-round submission loss to Cindy Dandois last July.
Shafir hasn’t competed in MMA since in almost three years as she gets ready to transition into her new career in professional wrestling. “The Supernova From Moldova” finished her professional career with a professional record of 1-2.
Shafir, who also competed for Invicta FC, is currently engaged to NXT Superstar Roderick Strong and the couple recently welcomed their first child together.
WWE began teasing the MMA Four Horsewomen arrival when Rousey, Duke and Shafir were interviewed during the Mae Young Classic, which Bazler was a finalist, in September. During the interview, the three Horsewomen from MMA went face-to-face with Bayley, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch; three of the WWE’s Horsewomen, along with Sasha Banks.
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Rousey, the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, has made an incredible transition to sports entertainment following her arrival at January’s Royal Rumble event. After announcing she had signed a long-term contract with WWE, “Rowdy” went on to have one of the most memorable WWE in-ring debuts in history at Wrestlemania, teaming with Kurt Angle to defeat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
Bazler has found incredible success early in her WWE career as well. After losing in the finals of the Mae Young Classic, “The Queen of Spades” has gone on to capture the NXT Women’s Championship.
The direction of Duke and Shafir is up in the air right now in the WWE. It’s safe to say that the battle of Horsewomen could be coming to the squared circle sometime in the near future.