Kobe Bryant says he tried consoling Ronda Rousey after her KO loss
Before suffering her first loss at the hands (and feet) of Holly Holm, Ronda Rousey was dead-set on becoming the greatest fighter the world has ever seen. She wanted to retire as the undefeated, unquestionable greatest of all-time.
Now, after her shocking loss to Holm, the whole ‘undefeated’ part of her plans went out the window. According to one all-time sporting great, however, becoming the best fighter of her generation is still within her grasp.
“I think the true mark of a champion is how you get up from that,” Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant told USA Today on Friday. “If she goes through her entire career undefeated, she becomes this mythical figure that nobody can relate to. She got beat. We all get beat at some point or another in our lives. Now it’s a matter of how she bounces back from that. I think that’s what makes her a true champion.”
Bryant, the five-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP, is in Toronto celebrating his 18th All-Star game appearance. He has spent all 20 of his NBA seasons in the iconic purple and yellow, but not all of those years were storybook endings. There were injuries (a torn Achilles) and more than a few seasons where Bryant wound up watching the playoffs from his couch.
Point being: even the greatest lose. And that’s exactly what Bryant told Rousey when he spoke with her after her loss.
“I sent her several messages, so yes, we have touched base,” Bryant said. “That’s what it’s about. It’s not about how you win. A true champion is about how you lose and come back from that.
“I told her, ‘It’s a beautiful thing.’ That’s what I told her. I said, ‘To be a true champion sometimes you have to get knocked down.’ It happens to the best of us. It happened with my Achilles [when I tore it], [Muhammad] Ali got put down several times – it happens to the best of us.”
To be the best, Rousey will need to avenge her loss to ‘The Preacher’s Daughter.’ Holm is scheduled to face Miesha Tate on March 5 at UFC 196. Assuming Holm can get past the veteran contender, fans can expect Rousey-Holm 2 sometime in late 2016.
If Rousey can put down Holm, she’ll be well on her way to re-establishing herself as a legitimate force in the UFC. And if not, there’s always Hollywood, and those inspiring texts from NBA legends – which is better than we’ll ever get.
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Ryan McKinnell is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports Cagewriter blog. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
