Ronda Rousey no stranger to adversity

Mixed martial arts and Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar Ronda Rousey is no stranger to adversity.

She needed speech therapy as a child, her father committed suicide when she was eight years old and she has battled for recognition in male dominated sports most of her life.

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Instead of making excuses for her circumstances, though, Rousey has moulded herself into the woman who will defend the Bantamweight title at UFC 193 at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

"I know what (loss) feels like," she told media ahead of her clash with Holly Holm.

"I have endured the worst losses possible. I lost the finals of the world (Judo) championships...when I wanted to be a world champion like my mother. My dream ever since I was a little kid was to win the Olympics and I failed twice.

"Nobody knows what it (feels) like more than I do, and that's why I am the person I am because I know how (losing) feels."

Body image is another battle Rousey feels deeply about.

"It's really important for me to be able to represent my own body type in a desirable light, that’s something that I didn't see growing up," she said.

"The sort of women that I saw on the covers of magazines were fashion female body types.

"I think that any woman’s body type in the healthiest form is desirable and I think too many of them are not represented and I'm just trying to do my part to represent my own."