WATCH: Pacquiao sends support to UFC’s Ronda Rousey

MANILA, Philippines – Boxing’s only eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao has extended his support to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey in her upcoming title defense.

In a short video that was uploaded on Rousey’s Instagram account, the Filipino boxing icon took time to give a special shout-out to the frontrunner of women’s mixed martial arts (MMA)

“Good luck to my good friend Ronda Rousey and Edmond [Tarverdyan] of GFC (Glendale Fighting Club) on her upcoming fight. Good luck and may God bless you,” said Pacquiao, who is not new to the sport of MMA as he bought an undisclosed amount of shares in ONE Fighting Championship last year.

Rousey is scheduled to lock horns with perennial contender Cat Zingano at the UFC 184 pay-per-view event on February 28, 2015 (March 1 in PH).

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The 27-year-old “Rowdy” is coming off a 16-second demolition of Alexis Davis at July’s UFC 175 to stretch her unbeaten record to ten matches.

Aside from Davis, Rousey also owns triumphs over Sara McMann, Miesha Tate and Liz Carmouche inside the Octagon.

At the age of 17, Rousey emerged as one of the top female Judokas in the world, giving her the opportunity to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Four years later, she captured the bronze medal at the Beijing Games, becoming the first American to win an Olympic medal in women’s judo bracket since its inception as an Olympic sport in 1992.

Rousey turned her attention to prizefighting in March 2011 and spearheaded her MMA career with eight-straight victories by armbar submission.

After moving up in the ranks to claim the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight belt, she was hailed as the inaugural UFC female titleholder in November 2012 when the organization was purchased by the world’s premier MMA promotion.

On the other hand, Zingano (9-0) made a triumphant return from a 17-month layoff by thwarting Amanda Nunes via third-round technical knockout at UFC 178 this past September.

The 32-year-old Zingano initially earned the right to vie for the 135-pound division’s top prize when she scored a third-round stoppage win over former Strikeforce titlist Miesha Tate at The Ultimate Fighter 17 season finale in April 2013, but a knee injury as well as the loss of her husband prevented her from capitalizing on the title shot.

UFC 184, which takes place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, is headlined by a middleweight championship showdown between current champion Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort. – Rappler.com