Ronda Rousey arrives in Standing Rock to battle President Trump's pipeline revival

Unlike how she handled her loss to Holly Holm in 2015, Ronda Rousey will not go into hiding for almost a year. Instead, the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion has made an effort to not allow her recent knockout loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 keep her down. As a matter of fact, Rousey has put her UFC career on the back-burner in lieu of more important matters taking place outside of the cage.

An image of Rousey was posted on a Standing Rock protester’s Twitter account that appears to show the “Rowdy” one in solidarity with those battling the planned building of a $3.8 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline. The Sioux tribe of Standing Rock has been at the forefront of this ongoing battle as they have growing concerns that their drinking water will be contaminated if this pipeline is indeed built. In late 2016, an intense standoff between protesters and police turned ugly as rubber bullets and water canons were fired at unarmed protesters. It subsequently led to United States Army Corps of Engineers, with the support of then-President Barack Obama, denying a permit for the pipeline to cross the river until additional environmental research was completed.

However, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that overturned the decision and has drawn the ire of protesters.

Among them is Ronda Rousey.

Rousey’s ties with Trump run deep as the two were at odds when Trump stated that the former champion was a supporter of his. Rousey swiftly denied those claims and a battle of words through media ensued. Trump celebrated Rousey’s loss to Holly Holm in 2015 and declared on Twitter that, “She’s not a nice person!”

This isn’t the first time that Rousey has been active for a cause as she’s been involved with a number of charities. The Standing Rock situation is just another one that she will take part in. It is unknown if she will ever compete in a UFC Octagon again but it appears that her fight is much bigger than one that takes place in a cage.