Get hyped, Kombatants, because MMA and sports icon Ronda Rousey is joining the roster – as Sonya Blade!
At the Mortal Kombat 11 gameplay reveal in Los Angeles, Rousey’s voice role as Sonya was met with a rousing (heh) applause, as the Olympic medalist stepped onto the stage to officially confirm her debut in the fighting game franchise.
Sonya Blade has featured in every single iteration of Mortal Kombat since its inception in 1992. Rousey is the latest voice actor to portray the badass General.
“I’ve always admired her”, enthused Rousey, in the video above, about Sonya Blade. “I’ve admittedly kind of emulated her [in] my own way. And now I get to try and be her.”
True enough, Rousey’s stellar career as a martial artist does spark some comparison to Sonya Blade, being the first female UFC Champion, Olympic medalist, and now plying her trade in the WWE, where she took home the Raw Women’s Championship belt in just her first season last year.
Her fighting style – which mainly comprises of judo – emulates Blade’s bone-breaking style as well. Outfit her with energy manipulation, flight, and a communicator, and Rousey might as well have been a full-on skin for Sonya Blade, just for the fun of it!
Rousey also exclaimed her profound love for Mortal Kombat, having played it at a young age.
Although her first experience with it wasn’t playing as Sonya Blade (it was Raiden instead), she somehow found drawn to the intrigue spanning the characters in the franchise. “It wasn’t just who’s the better fighter, instead it was ‘why was this person mad at that person?'”, said a wide-eyed Rousey.
While this is Rousey’s first time ever voice acting for a video game, it isn’t her first appearance in one, featuring in the likes of EA Sports’ UFC and its sequels, and as a DLC character for WWE 2K19.
Her excitement for Mortal Kombat 11 is understandably effervescent, given her new role in it, and surely we are as well.
Mortal Kombat 11 hits the shelves on April 23 for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.