GLENDALE, Calif. — Conor McGregor had Sinead O’Connor. Chad Mendes had Aaron Lewis. The live performances of each main event fighters’ walkout songs at UFC 189 was lauded. The production value was top notch and it was truly a spectacle.
Ronda Rousey watched from home and thought the whole thing was great — just maybe not for her.
The UFC women’s bantamweight champion said at a UFC 190 media day Thursday at Glendale Fighting Club that she isn’t sure if she would want a live performance for her walkout, because it would take away from the business at hand: dispatching her opponent in the most spectacular way possible.
“It was really cool,” Rousey said. “I just don’t know. I feel like it would be distracting in a way. Conor has that ability to look at the crowd, look at Sinead O’Connor and go do that thing. He’s got a flag. I’m just like, I’ve got stuff to do and I don’t want to think about anything and that’s my stuff. Everyone has their own method. That’s mine.”
Rousey, 28, walks out to “Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett and has one of the best entrances in all of MMA. The song fits perfectly with Rousey’s quick, unblinking saunter to the Octagon. But “Rowdy” thinks she’ll stick to the pre-recorded version of it.
“It’s such a Freudian thing to hear the recording,” Rousey said. “When they came out, I’m like that’s cool for everybody else, but I hope that’s not distracting for them. Because you always come out with the same thing.”
Rousey (11-0) might not even be able to hear “Bad Reputation” while she’s walking out at UFC 190 for her main event title defense against Bethe Correia in Rio de Janeiro. There will probably be a wide mixture of cheers, boos and the infamous “uh vai morrer” chant.
The champion isn’t sure what the reaction will be for her in Correia’s home country, but she has gotten booed heartily in Brazil before as a judoka.
“It would be cool to have a full on Rocky IV moment and turn the crowd,” Rousey said. “But I wouldn’t be mad if they booed me out of the stadium again.”
As long as Jett stays home, Rousey is cool.