“Stings little bit I’m not recognized as greatest ever…” Ronda Rousey gets emotional looking back legacy as MMA fighter

Ronda Rousey was the first female superstar in the UFC. Dana White once expressed disinterest in having women fight in the UFC. However, Rousey had other plans. Her fight against Liz Carmouche, which headlined UFC 157, had close to half a million PPV buys.

Rousey gained popularity in Strikeforce, where she was the women’s bantamweight champion. After the UFC acquired Strikeforce, she had the same success. However, after her upset loss to Holly Holm and subsequent loss to Amanda Nunes, she retired from MMA. In a recent interview, Rousey was visibly emotional when she looked back on her MMA career.

Sometimes it still stings a little bit that I'm not recognized as the greatest ever when I know I am. But, my mom said all the time…that she didn't care if everybody knew she was the best in the world, she only cared if she knew.

Ronda Rousey via The Diary of a CEO

Amanda Nunes is the consensus greatest women’s fighter of all time. However, that did not mean that the MMA community forgot about Rousey. It is a unanimous opinion that Rousey was the greatest thing to ever happen to women’s MMA. There is no debate that she is one of the pioneers and faces of women’s MMA. It is very difficult, even for male fighters, to have a million PPV buys. Rousey has done it twice, albeit both in losing efforts.

Rousey opened the door for women in the premier MMA promotion in the world. Moreover, during her undefeated run in MMA, she had a Tyson-esque aura. Sans the two losses, she finished all of her opponents, with nine coming via submission and three via knockout. In that 12-0 run, only the Miesha Tate rematch went past the second round.

Ronda Rousey reveals her life after upset loss to Holly Holm

Ronda Rousey headlined UFC 193 against Holly Holm, where the promotion broke their attendance record at the time. Now, UFC 243, headlined by Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker, has the record. Nonetheless, Rousey was a huge favorite against Holm but lost via TKO in round 2.

Rousey had recently come forth and stated that one of the reasons for her defeat was a concussion stemming from her Judo days. In a recent interview, Rousey opened up about the moments after her loss to Holm.

Extremely depressing. You know, that was my whole identity. Being champion and defeated, it's just like soul-crushing, really. I was just kind of forced to face music before I was ready to, and I knew that it was going to catch up to me at some point, but I was more upset that there were so many people out there that were reveling in it.

Ronda Rousey via The Diary of a CEO

She felt that people were unjust to her after the loss as many, whom she considered friends, turned on her. Therefore, ‘Rowdy’ stated that the loss had a positive impact as she knew who her friends were. The loss made her aware that she should not seek validation from other people. Moreover, she also showered praise on Travis Browne, her husband and ex-UFC heavyweight, for the support he gave her at the time.

In case you missed it!

• “I wasn’t there cognitively,” Ronda Rousey admits dealing with CONCUSSION before UFC 193 loss to Holly Holm
• “I pack a hell of a punch!” Gina Carano claims she would’ve KO’d prime Ronda Rousey

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