LOS ANGELES – After her acrimonious season coaching against rival Miesha Tate, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey made it clear she won’t take a hands-on role in The Ultimate Fighter any time soon.
But that doesn’t mean she won’t watch the show. Rousey is interested in the 20th season of the UFC’s reality series for multiple reasons.
For one, of course, this will mark the first all-women’s TUF cast. For another, the inaugural UFC strawweight champ will be crowned at season’s end.
And it’s that last point which interests Rousey most. At a Friday media luncheon promoting Rousey’s UFC 175 title defense against Alexis Davis, Rousey said that having another women’s champion in the company will come as something of a relief.
Rousey’s fight with Davis will be her fourth title defense in just over 16 months. With another weight class and another champion on board, Rousey says she’ll feel less pressure to carry the women’s side of the sport.
“One-fifteen is a stacked division,” Rousey said. “It’s an interesting division and I’m looking forward to it. I’m glad it already has a lot of depth, it’s not like they have to build it, and it definitely takes a lot of pressure off of me having another women’s champion that they can really get behind and then maybe I don’t have to fight so often.”
As for whom Rousey will root for on the season’s cast, Rousey says Rose Namajunas is her girl.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing how Rose Namajunas is going to do,” Rousey said. “I feel like she has a lot of potential and she’s a really exciting fighter and she’s a really interesting character. She’s probably going to be the one I’m pulling for the most on the show.”