Todays Web bonus Stagecoach Country Music Festival coverage. bit.

ly/COACH0425
HEALTH
FDA to regulate
electronic
cigarettes
Nation+World A15
CLOUDY, CHANCE SHOWERS
High:71Low:47PAGEA17
Inside:TheMTAislaunch-
ingastudyofanewbusline
throughtheSepulvedaPasson
thenew405 HOVlanes.PAGEA6
By Steve Scauzillo
steve.scauzillo@langnews.com
@stevscaz on Twitter
Calling it the future in traf-
c management, the Los Angeles
County transit agency board voted
unanimously Thursday to make
permanent the miles of pay lanes
already being used on the 110 and
10 freeways.
By an 11-0 vote, the Metropol-
itan Transportation Authority
called the one-year experimental
ExpressLanes project a success
and ordered the chief executive
ofcer to lobby the Legislature to
remove the sunset dates and grant
it power to convert more car-pool
lanes into pay lanes, possibly on the
405 Freeway.
The board embraced congestion
pricing as a tool that can get cars
moving on L.As jammed freeways
as long as people are willing to pay
TRANSPORTATION
Pay lanes
on 110, 10
are likely
to stay
405 Freeway may be next
toll-lane conversion plan
It took a few weeks, but Ronda Rousey went from frustration to elation. The Ultimate Fighting Championship womens bantam-
weight champion, undisputed and undefeated, was undeniably beside herself afer her frst foray into reality television. What
emerged was a no-strings quartet of perfect harmony outside the cage and bad intentions inside. Along with best friend and Mixed
Martial Arts training partner Marina Shafr, Rousey extended an invitation to fellow UFC fghters Shayna Baszler and Jessamyn
Duke to live and train with them in Southern California. Months later, their varied paths have merged into a four-lane expressway
known as The Four Horsewomen. Although they are at diferent levels in their MMA careers a champion, a neophyte, a pioneer
and a prospect their ability to challenge, encourage and inspire one another has helped foster friendships tighter than a rear
naked choke. While Rousey has provided the opportunities, she has gained as well. There were days ... Id still be training alone
and Id be driving alone so many hours a day. Itd get lonely ... Its so helpful having other people there on the same quest as you and
they understand what youre going through and theyre excited about the same things. We all just really feed of each other.
RondaRousey,27,istheUFC
womensbantamweightchamp.
MarinaShafr,26,madeherpro
MMAdebutjusttwoweeksago.
ShaynaBaszler,33,islooking
forwardtoherfrstUFCfght.
JessamynDuke,27,issetto
fghtSaturdayatUFC172.
Bridge..............D8 Comics............ L8 Lottery............ A2 Obituaries..... A10 Opinion.......... A14 Puzzles...D3,8,L7 TVlistings....... L2 INDEX
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Thesevenmenhopingtobe
sheriffaceofontheirplans
tobringhigherregardtothe
agency.PAGEA3
L.A. COUNTY
ACLU hosts sheriff
candidates' debate
JohnXXIII,whoiswellknown
forlaunchingVaticanII,willbe
oneoftwopopesinSundays
dualcanonization.PAGEA11
VATICAN
Remembering legacy
of Pope John XXIII
Contemporaryflmmakers
haveignitedtheshadowy
flmtraditionwithgratifying
results.SPOTLIGHT
MOVIES
The startling and wild
revival of lm noir
THE FOUR
HORSEWOMEN
PHOTOSBYHANSGUTKNECHTSTAFFPHOTOGRAPHER
TheFourHorsewomenJessamynDuke,MarinaShafr,ShaynaBaszlerandRondaRouseywatchavideoofawrestlingskittheyflmed.
Sisterhood:
MMA fghters have
become a phenomenon
FORTHEFULLSTORY,SEESPORTSFORPHOTOGALLERIESANDVIDEO,GOTODAILYNEWS.COM
For a great deal on
anything with wheels go to:
Weve got a brand new car
with your name on it!
dailynews.com/autos
CULTURE
Japanese tattoo art honors legacy
Spotlight
PAY LANES PAGE 6
By Brian Sumers
brian.sumers@langnews.com
@briansumers on Twitter
The family of the Transporta-
tion Security Administration of-
cer who died in a November shoot-
ing rampage at Los Angeles Inter-
national Airport has led a claim
against the city of Los Angeles, al-
leging the airport failed to protect
travelers and workers.
The wrongful death claim was
led by Ana Machuca, the widow
of TSA ofcer Gerardo Hernan-
dez, and their two children, Luis
Hernandez and Stephanie Her-
nandez. The claim, submitted to
the city clerk on April 16, asks for
more than $25 million in damages.
Hernandez, a Porter Ranch res-
ident, was shot to death and three
LAX RAMPAGE
TSA agents
family fles
$25M claim
against L.A.
CLAIM PAGE 7

dailynews.com Friday, April 25, 2014 $1.00FACEBOOK.COM/LADAILYNEWSTWITTER.COM/LADAILYNEWS

Daily
News

6 04259 00002 8 A NEWSPAPER
By Elliott Teaford
elliott.teaford@langnews.com
@ElliottTeaford on Twitter
Down but defiant, the Kings
went back to work Thursday night
for perhaps the last time at Staples
Center this season. They said all
the right things after doing almost
none of them while failing behind
the more opportunistic San Jose
Sharks three games to none.
We have to win one game, for-
ward Mike Richards said 24 hours
earlier. We cant worry about win-
ning four games all at once. We
should be comfortable playing in
Staples Center against San Jose.
Weve played against them lots and
weve had success against them in
our building lots.
We cant look ahead to Game 5
without winning Game 4.
The Kings handled their busi-
ness with a 6-3 series-extending
victory over the Sharks, forcing
NHL PLAYOFFS
Kings take must-win Game 4
Western Conference: L.A. stays alive with
home victory, its best efort yet against Sharks
MARKJ.TERRILLAP
KingsgoalieJonathan
Quick,top,cantstop
thisshotbySanJoses
MattNietoduring
ThursdaysGame4at
StaplesCenter.
KINGS 6, SHARKS 3
Up next:vs.SanJose,7 p.m.
SaturdayatSAPCenter.
TV:FSW
THE SCORE The Kings nally channeled
some of that Stanley Cup
swagger on Thursday.
It was just one game and
probably wont make a dif-
ference in the Western
Conference quarternals
results, but this sure was
a good way to soothe some
heartache.
The Kings played physi-
cal, their stars played well
and they had a killer in-
stinct.
Where, oh, where has that
been all series against the
Sharks?
Their physical brand of hockey
and a ne outing by Jona-
than Quick gave the Kings
a 6-3 win Thursday at Sta-
ples Center.
Robyn Regehr and
Brent Burns ended the
game, after the buzzer
sounded on the Kings rst
win in the series, with
gloves of and trading
punches. It was that kind
of afair.
The Kings cut San Joses se-
ries lead to 3-1 with Game 5 to be
played Saturday in San Jose.
Yes, the Kings, behind a strong physical
performance, do know their way to San Jose
CLIPPERS 98, GOLDEN ST. 96
Up next:Game4 atGoldenSt,
12:30p.m.Sunday,OracleArena.
TV:Ch.7
THE SCORE
The girl checking me into my
downtown Oakland hotel had the
spirit, the bright, yellow neon shirt
she wore practically shouting the
three most popular words in the
Bay Area this weekend: Loud.
Proud. Warriors.
So did the guy at the rental car
counter, the cashier
at the gas station
and the parking at-
tendant valeting my
car.
Loud.
Proud.
Warriors.
No matter where
you went, no matter
where you looked,
Warrior pride was everywhere.
The girl at the bus station. The fa-
ther and son riding riding BART
Thursday morning. The two nuns
walking down Broadway.
The Clippers came here to play
the Warriors.
Turns out the were going up
against an entire city.
A very loud.
Very proud.
Very Warriors city.
And that was before stepping
foot into Oracle Arena Thursday
for Game 3 of this rst round West-
ern Conference playof series.
The loudest, craziest, wildest
arena in the NBA.
But somewhere between L.A.
and Oakland the Clippers bought
some ear mufs and a little bit of
perspective.
They werent playing an arena,
they were playing a team. They
didnt have to beat 19.596 loud fans,
they had to beat the 12 guys wear-
NBA
Clippers
find way
to tame
loud beast
HANSGUTKNECHTSTAFFPHOTOGRAPHER
ThefemaleMMAfghtersknownastheFourHorsewomen,fromlef:MarinaShafr,JessamynDuke,ShaynaBaszlerandRondaRousey.
By Brian Martin
brian.martin@langnews.com
@TheBMartin on Twitter
It is a topic best avoided.
Any mention of last years The Ultimate
Fighter in the vicinity of Ronda Rousey is like
taking a stick to a hornets nest.
The UFC reality show, with female coaches and
ghters for the rst time in 18 seasons, was viewed
as a vehicle to highlight the wom-
ens bantamweight champion and
promote a title defense against ri-
val coach Miesha Tate.
It turned into a six-week or-
deal away from home that became
even more tumultuous once the episodes aired
and Rousey took issue with the editing.
Rousey swears in both promises and color-
ful language she will never do the show again.
Yet from darkness comes light.
Without that show, there would be no sister-
hood at Glendale Fighting Club.
There would be no Monday nights watching
WWE Raw in Rouseys Venice home, followed
Group of MMA fghters known as The Four
Horsewomen are a force to be reckoned with
ADAntonioisleavingthe
Lakerscoachingstaf,but
itsheadcoachMikesbrother
andleadassistant,Dan,who
isheadingelsewheretoserve
asMarshallUniversityshead
coach.
NBA
Lakers assistant takes
college coaching job
FULL STORY ON PAGE 10
Blog:InsideUCLA
The skinny:BeatwriterJack
Wangwillhostalivechat
todayatnoontoanswerany
questionsaboutUCLAfootball
(oranythingelse).
ON THE BLOGS
Talk Bruins football
today on UCLA blog
PLEASE VISIT INSIDESOCAL.COM/
UCLA
Jill
Painter
Columnist
HORSE
POWER
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
FORPHOTO
GALLERIES
ANDVIDEO,GOTO
DAILYNEWS.COM
I always tell my guy fighters, theyre your sisters.
So the way you would respect your sister is the way
you respect them. The girls are first in our gym.
Theyre like our saints basically in the gym.
Edmond Tarverdyan, owner of Glendale Fighting Club who trains The Four Horsewomen
Vincent
Bonsignore
Columnist
MMA PAGE 6
Tryexplainingtoyourmother
aboutthelackofprogress
overthelaunchoftheDodg-
ersnewchannel.Theconver-
sationstartswithAristotelian
logic,butendsupchanneling
AbbottandCostello.
MEDIA
Maybe you should just
catch Dodgers on radio
FULL STORY ON PAGE 3
Two-thirdsofAnaheimstoplineis
injuredanditsrookiegoaltenderis
strugglingagainstDallas.PAGE 8
Ducks hurting
KINGS PAGE 8 PAINTER PAGE 8
BONSIGNORE PAGE 10
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dailynews.com Friday, April 25, 2014 MOREATFACEBOOK.COM/LADAILYNEWS ANDTWITTER.COM/LADAILYNEWS

B1

Nickname:QueenofSpadesBirthplace:SiouxFalls,S.D.
Raised:SiouxFalls,S.D.Age:33
Last fght:LosttoAlexisDavisviatechnicalsubmission
(rear-nakedchoke)inthirdroundatMemorialHallinKansas
City,Kan.,onJan.5,2013.
Twitter:@QoSBaszler
Quote:Youregonnabehardpressedtofndagroupoffghters,especiallyin
womensMMA,thatareasskilledcombinedasweare.SoIthinkitsanidealsitua-
tionthatwereheretopusheachother.
Nickname:TheGunBirthplace:Whitesburg,Ky.
Raised:Richmond,Ky.Age:27
Last fght:DefeatedPeggyMorganviaunanimousdecision
atTheUltimateFighter18 fnaleatMandalayBayEvents
CenterinLasVegasonNov.30,2013.
Twitter:@JessamynDuke
Quote:Theresalottolearn,theresalottopractice,theres
alottodo.Itsnotjustbeingphysicallygifed.Youvegottobementallythere,too.
Andweallkindofhavethat.
SHAYNA BASZLER JESSAMYN DUKE
15-8
3-0
PHOTOSBYHANSGUTKNECHT,STAFFPHOTOGRAPHERFORPHOTOGALLERIESANDVIDEO,GOTODAILYNEWS.COM
by choreographed wrestling
routines in the living room
and the gym.
The best stable of female
MMA ghters would not ex-
ist.
There would be no Four
Horsewomen.
Invitation
When Rousey went to Las
Vegas last summer to lm
The Ultimate Fighter, she
took trainer Edmond Tarve-
rdyan to lead her coaching
staf. Also in tow was train-
ing partner Marina Shar,
Rouseys best friend since
their days as teenagers com-
peting in judo tournaments.
Me and Marina were al-
ways so tight because we
never really got along with
other girls. Because what
do we have in common with
the average girl my age?
Rousey said. The Ulti-
mate Fighter really brought
me together with a bunch of
other like-minded women.
Of the four women on
Team Rousey, the two who
stood out and bonded with
Rousey and Shafir were
womens MMA pioneer
Shayna Baszler, 33, and up-
start 27-year-old Jessamyn
Duke. Upon the shows com-
pletion, the two continued to
keep in touch with Rousey
and Shar.
Pretty soon, both were
visiting and training at
Tarverdyans Glendale
Fighting Club.
For Rousey and Shar, the
next step was a no-brainer.
They had a big house and
rooms available.
Why not?
So when Jessamyn
comes out and hangs out for
a little bit, I was like Ma-
rina, can we keep her? Can
we keep her? Rousey, 27,
said with her bright smile
and a big laugh. And so the
same thing when Shayna
came out: Can we keep her?
Can we keep her?
Even when they came
out to visit, it was like, You
guys are just moving in. I
just said it like it was already
a decision before they even
decided to do it. I was like,
Yeah, thisll be your room ...
It was like a foregone conclu-
sion.
Shar, who just turned 26,
wouldnt change a thing.
All of us are such dif-
ferent personalities, but we
come together like a puzzle.
Its crazy, she said. Ronda
and I will sit in the living
room and theyll be out do-
ing whatever. Well just sit
there and be like, The house
is perfect.
Formation
Conquest. War. Famine.
Death.
Each riding a diferent col-
ored horse, based on inter-
pretations of the New Testa-
ment, they are widely viewed
as The Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse.
Hundreds of years later,
sportswriter Grantland Rice
poetically applied the mon-
iker to the backeld of the
1924 Notre Dame football
team.
In the 1980s, it was bor-
rowed to describe one of the
most popular and success-
ful groups in professional
wrestling. Led by Ric Flair,
they were the jet-setting bad
boys.
Credit Baszler, a longtime
pro wrestling fan, for coining
the name The Four Horse-
women.
I love it. It started of kind
of as a joke, but I think its a
really good representation of
us, Baszler said. Were kind
of heels the people love to love
and love to hate. Thats kind
of the same as the The Four
Horsemen. Were The Four
Horsewomen.
And with Rousey with
her 9-0 record, magazine
covers and movie roles in
Expendables 3, Fast &
Furious 7 and Entourage
catching heat for how
she came of on The Ulti-
mate Fighter and refusing
to shake Tates hand after
beating her at UFC 168, its
not such a stretch.
But for all the booing,
fans love The Four Horse-
women. Throwing up the
fours holding up four n-
gers has become common-
place when any of the ght-
ers makes an appearance or
pose for pictures.
A united front has become
a phenomenon.
That seemed improba-
ble just two years ago after
Rousey won the Strikeforce
title.
There were days after
I won the belt and Id still
be training alone and Id be
driving alone so many hours
a day. Itd get lonely, said
Rousey, who was named the
UFC champion in Novem-
ber 2012. Its cool, but youre
lonely. Its so helpful having
other people there on the
same quest as you and they
understand what youre go-
ing through and theyre ex-
cited about the same things.
We all just really feed off
each other.
Sensation
Shar was clearly strug-
gling.
Coming of an illness, the
sparring session wasnt go-
ing as planned. Rousey,
Baszler and Duke stood side
by side outside the ring, qui-
etly analyzing the action.
From the ring apron,
Tarverdyans criticism was
well-founded but loud and
direct.
Marina, stop leaning
back! Move forward!
After four rounds, Shar
dejectedly removed her
headgear and sat by herself.
It was a hard day. I was
really sick. And there are no
excuses, I should have per-
formed better, said Shar,
the only one of the four not in
the UFC because she ghts
at 145 pounds the UFC
has only 115- and 135-pound
womens divisions. Its a
learning thing. Thats a les-
son thats already in my
brain. Yeah, because I need
time. Im one of those people,
if Im pissed of about some-
thing, I need time to cool of
and immediately think real-
ism in my brain.
If I dont, just leave me
alone. Keep me on ice. Pre-
tend Im not there.
Weeks later, with a 5-0
amateur record, Shaf ir
would be making her pro-
fessional MMA debut April
12 at Chaos at the Casino 4
at Hollywood Park Casino in
Inglewood.
Nearly two dozen ghters
and their coaches rebufed
offers to challenge Shafir.
A running joke at Glendale
Fighting Club is featured on
the board promoting upcom-
ing ghts: Marina Shar vs.
Victim.
Shar eventually got an
opponent on eight days no-
tice, needing only 1:57 to de-
feat Chandra Engel her
sixth rst-round submission
victory in six ghts.
All in less than two years.
In her corner were Rousey
and Tarverdyan. No one had
a bigger smile than Tarve-
rdyan.
These girls are tough.
They have hard days in
here. I tell them this is the
way you gotta get up. They
just do what I tell them, he
said. Theyre like machines.
Mentally, theyre strong and
theyre real focused. When
they want to learn some-
thing, they put 100 percent
energy and efort.
Not far away in the crowd
were Baszler and Duke. Only
this time, they were far from
quiet. Maybe there was some
analysis, but it was mostly
wholehearted support.
Loud and direct.
Were not gonna give
each other lip service. Were
not faking the funk for any
of us, Baszler said. Were
pretty straightforward and I
think thats why it works so
well between the four of us,
is we dont hold back from
each other.
We all like to deal with
it diferently. But we know
each other enough. So yeah,
you kinda saw it that day.
When Marinas down, you
gotta let her be down for a
bit. Its not even anything
conscious. We just know
each other.
And in the ring, Shafir
celebrated with a group pic-
ture. Throwing up the fours.
Determination
Where were you 10
years ago on Halloween
night?
Rousey, Shar and Duke
were teenagers.
Baszler was 23 and at the
fairgrounds.
About to make her profes-
sional MMA debut.
I can remember walking
into a barn in South Dakota,
and this wasnt even an idea
as a career path. This was
just something I did that was
fun, the Sioux Falls native
recalled. It wasnt a dream.
JessamynDuke,RondaRouseyandShaynaBaszler,leftoright,shadowboxwhileholdingweightsattheGlendaleFightingClubinGlendale.
MarinaShafr,lef,andJessamynDukeworkontheirwrestlingmoves.
RondaRousey,lef,getsabighugfromhousemate
JessamynDukeattheirVenicehome.
MMA PAGE 7
MMA
FROM PAGE 1
| SPORTS |
LOSANGELESNEWSGROUP FRIDAY,APRIL25,2014 6
B
Nickname:RowdyBirthplace:Riverside
Raised:Jamestown,N.D./SantaMonicaAge:27
Last fght:DefeatedSaraMcMannviaTKO(knee)at1:06
ofthefrstroundatUFC170atMandalayBayEventsCen-
terinLasVegasonFeb.22.
Twitter:@RondaRousey
Quote:Theresnoegobetweenanyofus.Whoeverhasafghtcomingup,weare
alllikeyourslave,prettymuch....Itsnotlikeitsallaboutoneperson.Itsallabout
whoeversgotsomethingcomingup.
Nickname:TheSupernovafromMoldovaBirthplace:Soroca,Moldova
Raised:Albany,N.Y.Age:26
Last fght:DefeatedChandraEngelviaarmbarsubmission
at1:57 ofthefrstroundatChaosattheCasino4 atHol-
lywoodParkCasinoinInglewoodonApril12.
Twitter:@MarinaShafr
Quote:Igottatellyou,itslikethestarsarealigningforus.
Itsgreathavingthem....Iwouldnttakeanybodyout,Iwouldntputanybodyin.
Thisisperfect.Thisisgreat.
RONDA ROUSEY MARINA SHAFIR
Not because I wouldnt have
loved to have that dream, but
because it didnt exist.
This was more than a year
before the UFC and Spike
TV launched The Ultimate
Fighter, which is seen as the
time MMA nally became
part of the mainstream.
But that was for men.
Baszler continued to toil
in more than a dozen orga-
nizations. A certied EMT,
Baszler often worked two
jobs to support herself, in ad-
dition to training and ght-
ing.
She won belts for pro-
motions long gone by now.
While the UFC was start-
ing its womens division
with Rousey as its champion,
Baszler went 1-2 in less than
a year in Invicta Fighting
Championships before be-
ing selected to compete on
The Ultimate Fighter.
She was regarded as
the favorite, only to be up-
set by Julianna Pena in the
shows rst ght. The disap-
pointment eventually ebbed
when she knew she would get
a shot at ghting for a UFC
contract.
An ankle injury stalled
that long-awaited debut,
but Baszler got a taste for it
when she cornered Duke for
her UFC debut in November.
Months later, she still gets
goosebumps recounting it.
Finally, to hear the mu-
sic and be in the arena, it
was a surreal moment, she
said. It was crazy. It was
awesome.
Her time would come.
The date was circled: April
16, 2014, vs. Sarah Kaufman
on the TUF Nations nale
in Quebec.
But in training, Baszler
threw out her hip, which led
to her throwing out her back,
which led to discs swelling
and worse. She was bed-
ridden for three days. She
didnt train efectively for 2
weeks.
Knowing Baszler wasnt
100 percent and a loss could
cost her a spot in the UFC,
Tarverdyan, along with
Baszler mentor and UFC
heavyweight Josh Barnett,
made the difcult call.
The ght was of.
Ohhh ... heartbroken.
Heartbroken, Shafir said
of everyones reaction to the
news. Because aside from
all the training, mental prep-
aration is such a big part of
that. So when you dont really
ll that mental void in your
brain that, OK, Im ghting,
and you pull away? Its such a
tease. I could only imagine.
Baszler holed up in her
room for two days, de-
pressed and questioning her
future in the sport.
Baszler knows this: Her
coaches made the right call.
And a UFC ght is still com-
ing her way.
But she also knows, at 33,
more sand is on the wrong
side of the hourglass of her
career.
Ultimately, I need to have
a ght, to put the stamp at
the end of the book. I started
at the fairgrounds in an expo
building where there was no-
where to sit, just paid money
at the door and stood around
and signed up at the door to
ght. They didnt even have
weigh-ins, she said. To
start from that, to see the
growth happen and nally
fight in the UFC, the pin-
nacle of what our sport is, I
need to have that.
The one ght that could
happen some day might be
the biggest shocker of all.
Rousey vs. Baszler. Horse-
woman vs. Horsewoman.
Not only do they laugh
about it, they have the rou-
tines, weigh-in staredowns
and trash-talking down to
a tee.
Its not that much dif-
ferent. We come in here,
we beat each other up, then
were all, Lets go! Rousey
said. Yeah, whenever and if
ever we do ght for the belt,
itll just be like were gonna
throw down. And afterward,
bufalo wings on me. What-
ever happens.
Finally for Baszler, a
dream worth having.
Anticipation
When Baszler lost her
bout on The Ultimate
Fighter, the biggest winner
outside of Pena might have
been Duke.
While the Kentucky na-
tive also lost her rst ght
via unanimous decision in
an all-out brawl with Raquel
Pennington, she gained a
mentor.
I kinda took her under
my wing, Baszler said. I
called her my Sith appren-
tice, shes my little padawan.
Im really excited to see the
growth of her happen.
Duke has been fighting
professionally since 2012
and began her amateur ca-
reer in 2010.
But the progress she
sees and feels in herself has
spawned condence.
A lot of that comes not
only from training with
world-class female ghters,
but also in learning from the
champ.
We get to spar with
Ronda, we get to train with
Ronda, Duke said with a
smile, almost incredulous
at hearing what she is say-
ing. If you think about it,
we get to work with the best
female ghter on the planet
on a daily basis, Thats only
gonna make us better. And
that makes her better too. It
pushes her more, makes her
have to grow more.
Duke showed of what she
had absorbed in a few short
months with her overwhelm-
ing unanimous-decision vic-
tory over Peggy Morgan in
November. And shes had
several more months since,
leading up to her ght Satur-
day against Bethe Correia on
the preliminary card of UFC
172 in Baltimore.
Not only has Tarverdyan
broken bad habits and built
upon an already steady
foundation, he has molded
a ghter not unlike himself.
Duke and Tarverdyan
have the same tall, rangy
build. At 5 foot 11, Duke
towers over most of her
135-pound opponents, and
Tarverdyan has tailored her
skills as such.
Dukes nickname might be
The Gun, but Tarverdyan
prefers to call her Chee-
pote, which stands for The
Whip.
Its like I get to get inside
his head a little bit on what
works for him and have the
right attitude and try to em-
ulate him, she said. I watch
him move a lot. I watch him
spar a lot because he has a
similar body type, He un-
derstands why some things
work and some things dont,
whats easy and whats not.
I feel like he gets it. Its
like someone understands
that long, lanky ghter.
Duke also understands
what she has been aforded:
to live and train with fellow
ghters, all intelligent and
uniquely skilled.
And Baszler sees her
friend and protege able to fo-
cus solely on training while
not having to work two jobs,
and she cant help but get a
little jealous.
If I could have had the op-
portunity to be a full-time
ghter while I was one of the
best in the world, what could
I have done then? Baszler
asks. Jess is at a great point
in her career where she has
that early enough that I
think shes gonna do huge
things.
Appreciation
At the top of the mountain
resides Rousey.
This is her faction, her
lair, her doing.
And no one has second-
guessed it for a second.
Where else would I
rather be? Im learning so
much, Duke said.
As for the makeup of
the group, everyone brings
something to the table.
When asked how to dene
everyone, Rousey puts it this
way as only she can.
Marina is like the level-
headed mommy, the reason-
able one. And then I would
say that Jessamyn is like
the sweet, cuddly, always-
in-a-good-mood one. Shes
the one you randomly walk
up to and hug in the house,
she said. And then Shayna
is our navigator of Reddit.
We all just sit around the TV
and watch Shayna surf Red-
dit and we laugh our asses of
together. And shes denitely
more like the showman of ev-
erybody. Shes very much the
entertainer of the group.
Rousey has deemed her-
self the slob of the bunch,
dirty dishes and clothes in
her wake.
But shes also the king of
the pride, defender of the li-
onesses.
I feel like they do all the
work and I just eat every-
thing that they just bring
and prepare for me, Rousey
said. And if anyone messes
with them, Ill rip of their
face. And thats my job.
The truth is, there is
nothing Rousey requires or
wants from them.
Baszler says the depth of
gratitude for Rousey is im-
possible to quantify.
It cant be measured what
shes done for us. You cant
make a list of things shes
bought or something like
that, Baszler said. Its not
a measurable thing. Its the
opportunities shes given us.
Shar sums up The Four
Horsewomen as a beautiful
thing that happened.
Theyre my sisters.
Theyre my teammates,
she said. Id take a bullet
for those girls.
RondaRousey,ShaynaBaszler,MarinaShafrandJessamynDukewatchWWEMondayNightRawattheirVenicehome.
JessamynDuke
andMarina
Shafrusethe
SantaMonica
Stairsfora
workout.The
womenpush
andencourage
eachother
duringtraining,
especiallyifone
ofthemhasan
upcomingfght.
9-0
1-0
MMA
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