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Ronda Rousey donates UFC title belt to Brazilian children's judo school

Published Aug. 5, 2015 11:33 a.m. ET

Elias Cepeda

In March, UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey donated $30,000 to the Instituto Recao, a judo school and "social project" where hundreds of children take part in judo lessons and an interdisciplinary program meant to help them physically and cognitively. On Tuesday, Rousey donated the championship belt she earned Saturday in Rio at UFC 190 to the school, where it will stay.

Last week, leading up to her UFC 190 main event against Brazilian challenger Bethe Correia, Rousey agreed with her rival that the UFC championship belt should stay in Brazil. Of course, Correia meant that she wanted to win the title and keep it in her home country.

Rousey kept the designation in the United States with her 34-second KO win, but wants the belt to remain in Brazil to inspire the children at Instituto Recao. "Bethe did have one thing right," she said last week.

"She said that the Brazilian people deserve to have the belt left here. So I've decided that after I win it, I'm going to make sure that when I have the belt, I don't take it home with me. I'm going to give it and make sure that it stays someplace in Brazil as my gift."

That place is the judo school, owned by Olympic judo bronze medalist Flavio Canto. Rouse is a two-time judo Olympian and a bronze medalist in 2008.

She has visited the school before and worked out with the children. Now, they'll always have something to remember the champ by.

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