Ronda Rousey at WWE's Royal Rumble. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports.

Ronda Rousey Has Spoken to Media About Her Losses to Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm For the First Time…

Very few fighters in UFC history can say they had a division created just for them. Ronda Rousey is one of these. She can also confidently say that women may never have featured in the UFC if it was not for her. The former bantamweight champion is a true pioneer and legend of MMA.

Now she’s in the entertainment busy with the WWE, Rousey has had time to think about her last two fights in the UFC. Her first defeat was at the hands of Holly Holm, who stunned the world by KOing the apparently invincible. After a brief hiatus, Rousey came back, only to get smashed by current bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.

These defeats were further tarnished by her total isolation from the media. She refused to speak to any paparazzi, a practice which arguably cost her a lot of fans. Now she has rediscovered her passion and has opened up for the first time about her mental struggle.

Nov 15, 2015; Melbourne, Australia; Ronda Rousey (red gloves) receives attention after being defeated by Holly Holm (not pictured) during UFC 193 at Etihad Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

Sheer Brilliance

Rousey at her peak was one of the most dominant UFC champions of all time. ‘Rowdy’s’ opponents were never able to get her past the first round, with 9 of her 12 professional wins coming via arm bar. As a former Olympian, Rousey never became accustomed to failure. Speaking at a Q&A, hosted by Wild Card West Boxing Gym, she said:

“My parents expected me to be special, so I expected to be special. I was just trying to create the job I wanted, and I wouldn’t have the audacity to do that if my mom didn’t tell me I could. But one thing my mother never taught me was how to lose. She never wanted me to entertain it as a possibility. She’d say: ‘Let it suck. It deserves to suck.’”

That’s pretty tough. Rousey has faced a lot of pressure throughout her life, and her winning mentality just consumed her. Each win created a new sense of pressure to perform even better the next time, until it just became too much.

Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports.

Privacy

Rousey also spoke strongly about her right to privacy. She’s always done most of her talking in the octagon. However, she believes that she should have the right to decide who she speaks to, and who gets to question her.

“Famous people keep more and more of it to themselves. Why should I talk? I believe hearing me speak is a privilege, and it’s a privilege that’s been abused, so why not revoke it from everyone? I don’t believe public criticism beating you down is the right thing to do.”

Rousey might get away with that in the UFC, but in WWE she’s just going to have to get more camera comfortable. Personality is just as important as performance in the world of professional wrestling.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh811teDCeU/?hl=en&taken-by=rondarousey

Busy Life

‘Rowdy’ has a lot going on in her life right now. As well as being the new face of WWE, she’s becoming more involved in Hollywood. She’s starring in Mark Wahlberg’s new film Mile 22, and has more film deals in the pipeline.

It’s good to see that she’s in a much better place than before. Relationships with the media and staying emotionally strong when your world is falling apart isn’t easy to do. People react in different ways. Some smash up buses, while others just refuse to talk. Rousey is finally healing.

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