Days after Jarrod Haschert asked his “celebrity crush,” UFC superstar Ronda Rousey, to the annual Marine Corps Ball at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, he scored big-time when the mixed martial arts fighter accepted his proposal.
“I would go, for sure,” Rousey said in video posted on TMZ.com and credited to Splash News.
The long-distance flirtation began Aug. 22, when Haschert — speaking in full Marine uniform from Camp Lejeune — put up a 34-second video online expressing his admiration for the undefeated UFC women’s bantamweight champion.
“I love everything you do, and I think you are a phenomenal person,” he said.
Then came the punchline: “Which is why it would be my honor to take you to the Marine Corps Ball on Dec. 11. … I hope you take this in consideration because, if you do, you will truly be making my dream come true.”
It took a few days for the proposal to filter down to Rousey. (Haschert’s recent appearances on multiple media outlets might have helped.) Initially, it seemed a no-go because she had a fight scheduled for January, meaning December would be taken up by training.
But then her next fight was moved to November, paving way for the date — if, Rousey joked, she can get some help setting it up.
“I don’t know how to … hit him up and say, ‘Yeah, I want to go with you,'” she said. “Do I have to call him or do I set up a time and place like ‘Never Been Kissed,’ and just show up?”
Rousey requested, lightheartedly, that Haschert help find dates for a few of “my girls.”
And of course, “He’s got be a gentleman.” Given her dominance in the octagon, Rousey has proven time and again she’s not one to be messed with.
