Ronda Rousey is the reason the UFC is where it is today. That is a statement UFC President Dana White firmly believes in.
Rousey made her UFC debut in the first ever female fight in UFC history, where she defended her bantamweight title (after having her Strikeforce bantamweight title promoted to the UFC bantamweight championship) against Liz Carmouche. ‘The Rowdy One’ successfully defended that title with a first round armbar submission win and went on to defend the strap five more times, finishing four within the first round.
In November of 2015 Rousey suffered her first defeat in mixed martial arts (MMA) competition when she was knocked out by Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 193. Holm delivered a thunderous head-kick in the second round that sent the former Olympic Judoka crashing down, along with her undefeated record.
Rousey attempted to regain her title against now-champion Amanda Nunes in the main event of UFC 207 this past December, but the Brazilian knockout artist made quick work of Rousey with a 48-second knockout. After suffering yet another lopsided defeat many have begun to bring Rousey’s legacy to question, leaving her Octagon future in a tremendous state of doubt.
To the naysayers UFC President Dana White would like to remind them who exactly built ‘this house’ we all know and love called the UFC (quotes courtesy of Bloody Elbow):
“Everything she told me she would do, she did,” White said. “She worked her ass off for this sport, for this company, for women. She worked herself to the bone. I’ve never had a fighter work [with publicity] the way she has. She’s made a lot of money.”
“I know for her that doesn’t matter—her legacy means more to her than anything else. But you know what, sometimes we can’t have it all. But let’s be clear: she built this house. She really did.”
With many speculating that the UFC is dreading the fact that their ‘golden goose’ has been on the losing end of things as of late, White claims that couldn’t be farther from the truth as he is more worried about his longtime friend as a ‘human being’:
“I care about her as a human being more than the fighter side,” White said. “You read the bulls—, ‘Oh man, UFC’s in trouble, their golden goose….’ She’s not a f—king golden goose. She’s a human being. And she’s a very good f–king friend of mine.”
“She knows what she wants and doesn’t want. If she calls me today and says, ‘I’m done. I’m gonna wrap it and call it a career’ I’m gonna be like, ‘Awesome. That’s amazing. We’ll plan something.’ And if she calls me and says, ‘I want three more fights,’ she’s got it. She’ll make that decision on her own.”
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