‘GAMER NERD’ GROWS INTO MMA ICON

Ronda Rousey’s feisty spirit is on display every time she steps into the octagon but, by her own admission, she is also a huge nerd.

As a teenager, Rousey was a huge fan of interactive games such as Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z and World of Warcraft and remains interested in the gaming community.

“She likes to be the smartest one in the family, and when it comes to games she gets to be, because she has been into gaming since she was little,” Rousey’s mother, AnnMaria De Mars, told USA TODAY Sports. “I remember when she was 14, some guy from UCLA called — obviously somebody who should not be asking for my 14-year-old daughter.”

But just as De Mars’ protective instincts kicked in and she started to demand to know why the man was calling, Rousey explained the caller was from the

Pokemon control board, to which she had applied to become a moderator.

“So apparently there is an interview process to be a Pokemon moderator,” De Mars said. “I kid you not.”

Rousey’s sister, Maria Burns Ortiz, who co-wrote her autobiography, My Fight/Your Fight, remembers seeing her sibling head off to weekend Pokemon tournaments — in the process confusing her family who understood little about the game.

“People talk about being nerdy and self conscious about it, but within our family she was totally a little gamer nerd,” Ortiz said. “Everybody in our family is pretty smart, but when it came to games she was totally (into it). But she wasn’t self-conscious about it. It was just what she did.”

Rousey makes no effort to hide her nerdy side and has described her gaming skills as badass.

“As you might have gathered,” De Mars said, “Ronda is a little competitive.”