Former UFC and Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey opened up in an interview with Valeria Lipovetsky about her final days in the UFC.
After her UFC 193 knockout loss to Holly Holm, Rousey felt obligated to return for another fight. In that fight, she was mercilessly beaten by Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 and finished in just 48 seconds. It was the last time “Rowdy” graced the inside of the octagon.
“I felt like I had to come back for another fight because I felt like I owed it to the fans and everyone that believed in me. Maybe I needed to give them an example of overcoming adversity,” Rousey said.
“I was so done fighting after that loss [to Holly Holm],” Rousey continued. “I’d had so many concussions, I literally couldn’t take a jab without getting a concussion at that point.”
Rousey blamed the loss to Holm on a ‘bad mouth guard,’ a pre-fight concussion, and a ‘terrible weight cut.’
During the interview, Rousey said something that caught the attention of former UFC, Bellator MMA, Strikeforce, and Invicta FC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg.
“I know that I’m the greatest fighter that has ever lived,” Rousey claimed. “But when it got to a point where I’d just taken so much neurological damage that I couldn’t take it anymore, suddenly everything that I accomplished meant nothing.”
Cyborg responded to Rousey’s comments via social media. “Poor girl still suffering from CTE,” Cyborg wrote. “I hope she finally got a good mouth guard.”
Poor girl still suffering from CTE.
I hope she finally got a good mouth guard. https://t.co/JwHQxUSxJA
— CrisCyborg.Com (@criscyborg) April 3, 2024
Cyborg returns to boxing to face Widnelly Figueroa in the main event of Green Bay Fight Night at The Watering Hole in Green Bay, Wis on April 27.
Who do you consider the greatest female fighter to ever live? Holm held multiple boxing titles and the UFC bantamweight crown. Amanda Nunes defeated two divisions of fighters including Cyborg. Cyborg held the 145-pound women’s title for essentially nine years. Valentina Shevchenko held the flyweight championship for five years successfully defending it seven times.
https://www.mmaweekly.com/news/cris-cyborg-has-brutal-response-to-ronda-rouseys-greatest-that-ever-lived-claim
