It’s the opposite of what most cover stars strive to do before a big photoshoot, but Ronda Rousey has revealed she purposely gained 15 lbs. ahead of her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition 2015 shoot.

She said she wanted to weigh around 150 lbs. for the shoot instead of the 135 lbs. she fights at.

"I felt like I was much too small for a magazine that is supposed to be celebrating the epitome of a woman,” she told Cosmopolitan.

She added, “I wanted to be at my most feminine shape, and I don't feel my most attractive at 135 lbs., which is the weight I fight at.”

Rousey, who made her big screen debut in Entourage earlier this summer, also said it took her a while to get used to her body type and develop a "healthier" relationship with food.

"I grew up thinking that because my body type was uncommon, it was a bad thing," she said. "Now that I'm older, I've really begun to realize that my body has developed for a purpose and not just to be looked at."

image via Peter West/ACE/INFphoto.com