Ronda Rousey Still Struggling to Talk About UFC Losses, Addresses MMA Retirement
It's been more than a year since Ronda Rousey last stepped foot in the UFC Octagon, but she's still not ready to address her loss to Amanda Nunes, much less reflect on her previous defeat to Holly Holm.
In the lead-up to her fight against Nunes at UFC 207, Rousey didn't engage in any media interviews nor did she take part in the typical pre-fight promotion for the event. Instead, UFC president Dana White allowed Rousey to skip out on all the regular pre-fight duties including interviews, open workouts, or any sort of media day with reporters.
Following her 48-second loss to Nunes in the UFC 207 main event, Rousey once again avoided any post-fight press conference and now, 13 months later, she's still not really ready to address her feelings on what unfolded.
“I think I'd just rather not talk about that right now,” Rousey told ESPN when asked to discuss her losses to Nunes and Holm.
Rousey was definitely emotional when asked about those fights, but once she regained her composure she did begin to express how tough it's been for her to accept losses in her martial arts career.
(Courtesy of ESPN)
Ronda Rousey Compares UFC Losses to Judo
The only correlation that Rousey could make was with her experience in judo when she twice attempted to win a gold medal in the Olympics, but came up short both times.
“I feel like the only thing that helped me — winning the Olympics was the only thing I cared about as a kid, I devoted my whole life to it and I tried and I tried. Winning the World Championships like my mom did and I got to the finals of the World Championships and I lost. I went to two Olympics and I lost. It's still hard to realize that your childhood dreams are not coming true,” Rousey said. “I think the only thing that really helps is 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's a parallel there.
“It still hurts that I didn’t win the Olympics and it sounds ridiculous to a lot of people, right? You were an Olympic medalist, you should be happy, but it would be hard to explain that to my 10-year-old self that was so sure she was going to win the Olympics.”
Of course, Rousey did reach new heights as UFC champion with six title defenses under her belt, while becoming one of the biggest draws in the history of the sport.
Still, Rousey doesn’t seem content with what she did in those fights, but rather focuses on the two losses at the end of her career that continue to haunt her.
Ronda Rousey is Focused on WWE, Call Her UFC Exit What You Want
As far as her future goes, Rousey wasn't ready to use the word retirement, but by all accounts her fighting career is finished.
Rousey signed a multi-year deal with WWE to begin working with them in a full-time capacity starting with her first appearance at Sunday night's Royal Rumble event. Rousey plans on dedicating the bulk of her attention on a new career with WWE, which likely leaves little time for any possible comeback to fighting.
“That's what everybody else seems to say. I mean, I never retired from judo, so if that's what you guys want to think,” Rousey said. “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.”
Rousey did leave the door open for a potential return to UFC action at some point in the future if the right fight presented itself, but her main focus for now remains WWE.
“I wouldn't doubt myself doing anything,” Rousey said.
As far as what comes next for Rousey's professional wrestling career, she made her first appearance as a member of the roster on Sunday night, but will likely pop up again as part of the weekly programming for the company on either RAW, which airs on Monday nights, or on Smackdown Live, which is on Tuesday nights, with both shows on the USA Network.
