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UFC women’s champion Ronda Rousey backs Bernie Sanders

by Bradford Richardson - 11/10/15 1:30 PM ET

Undefeated UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey is coming out swinging in support of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

Rousey told Maxim in an interview published Tuesday she’s in Sanders’s corner in the 2016 presidential race because of his stance on campaign finance reform.

{mosads}“I’m voting for Bernie Sanders, because he doesn’t take any corporate money,” she said. “I don’t think politicians should be allowed to take money for their campaigns from outside interests.”

Rousey, 28, said she would not vote for Hillary Clinton in the general election if the former secretary of State beats out Sanders in the Democratic primary.

“If he doesn’t win against Hillary, then I’ll probably vote for a third party again,” she said, noting that in 2012, she voted for comedian Roseanne Barr, who ran on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket.

Rousey’s 2016 endorsement was the subject of attention over the summer. Republican Donald Trump claimed to have her support, but the professional fighter dismissed the claim.

“I mean, I wouldn’t vote for him,” she told CNN in August. “I just really wouldn’t trust the guy with running my country, that’s all. I’m not really going to get into specifics of it, but, I mean, I don’t really want a reality TV star to be running my country.”

Rousey defends her bantamweight belt against Holly Holm on Saturday.

Tags Bernie Sanders