The former UFC bantamweight champion opened up for the first time about the last two fights of her MMA career…
Former UFC bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey, debuted for the WWE on Sunday night. Rousey appeared on camera during the closing moments of the sports entertainment juggernaught’s “Royal Rumble” event in Philadelphia. She pointed at the WrestleMania sign and would later announce she had signed a full-time contract with the company.
Yet despite her seemingly concrete career change, Rousey still contends she is not retired from MMA. In fact, according to her, Rousey hasn’t even fully retired from Judo. She would later tell reporters that she believes moving to the WWE will help her get over her losses in the UFC.
Even though Dana White possibly secretly hopes for a Rousey return to UFC pay-per-view, he has been nothing but supportive of her career change.
“I’m very happy for her,” White told reporters. “She loves pro wrestling and has always been a big fan so I know how much his means to her. She keeps accomplishing everything she’s ever wanted.”
Ronda Rousey’s WWE Career Begins, MMA Career Not Over
Shortly after Rousey’s WWE debut, she spoke to media and reiterated she is not retired from MMA.
“(Retirement is) what everybody else seems to say,” Rousey said. “I never retired from judo. If that’s what you guys want to think. All I know is that I really want to devote 100 percent of my time to wrestling right now, and whatever people want to call that, they can call it.”
Despite keeping her MMA bridges unburned, Rousey stressed WWE is now her top priority.
“This is my life now,” she continued. “First priority on my timeline for the next several years. This is not a smash-and-grab; this is not a publicity stunt. When I first met with Triple H, I told him, ‘There are other things I can do with my time that’ll make way more money, but I won’t enjoy nearly as much.’”
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Helwani Comments on Rousey’s Refusal To Accept Losses
Some believe the reason Rousey’s MMA career fell as fast as it did is a result of her failure to accept her losses.
Those who abide by this theory believe Rousey’s success was built on an unwavering belief in herself which was then irredeemably destroyed in her bout with Holly Holm.
“She still can not speak about the losses, and to me — it’s hard for me to wrap my head around,” Ariel Helwani said recently.
“Week in and week out I see (UFC light heavyweight champion) Daniel Cormier show up to press conferences and talk about his losses just as eloquently as his wins. I see Conor McGregor get tapped out and dust himself off. The fact that she still can’t get over these two losses to me just feels like a major character flaw. She’s still harboring these feelings like she’s not over it. She hasn’t moved on yet. I don’t know what to make of that, but I find that fascinating.”
Ronda Rousey Opens up About Losses
Rousey took the time to open up to reporters recently about how her final 2 MMA fights impacted her, her confidence, and career trajectory.
When asked about how she deals with getting over losses like the ones she suffered in the UFC and the Olympics, here is what Rousey had to say:
“The only thing that really helped was finding something else to devote myself to and to be successful at. I think I only was able to get past the Olympics when i started doing MMA.
“I do believe there is a parallel there. It still hurts that I didn’t win the Olympics, It sounds ridiculous to a lot of people, right?
“I think this journey into this industry is really proving that belief is real.”
