Ronda Rousey had the time of her life watching Brendan Schaub’s mixed martial arts (MMA) career come to an end against her future husband, Travis Browne, in December 2014.
Before the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion retired from the sport and married Browne, she found herself in a relationship with Browne’s former fellow UFC Heavyweight contender, Schaub. The latter has confirmed and spoken about the relationship on a handful of occasions over the years. Rousey hasn’t said too much about that period … until now.
In her new book, Our Fight: A Memoir (h/t Reddit), “Rowdy” revealed some struggles she faced with her ex-boyfriend. Rousey, 37, doesn’t specifically name Schaub in the excerpt, but she identifies him by detailing Browne’s fight with him, which he won via a first round technical knockout.
“Travis had been training with us for a while when it was announced that his first fight as an official member of our team would be against my ex-boyfriend,” Rousey wrote. “My ex thrived on playing f—ked-up mind games with me when I had a fight coming up and insisted we hide that we were dating so he wouldn’t be labeled ‘Ronda Rousey’s Boyfriend.’
“As Travis headed into the match up, I pretended it wasn’t personal,” she continued. “I tried not to be overly involved or emotional. This wasn’t my fight. I was hoping he would win, but I was in training camp, so I didn’t really think too much more about it. That is until it was on live TV, and I lost my goddamn mind. Screaming at the top of my lungs, ‘Get him, Travis!’ while punching the arm of the person on the couch next to me.”
Browne, 41, fought six more times after his Schaub victory, going 1-5 and closing out his career on a four-fight losing skid (18-7-1) in July 2017. Rousey, on the other hand, fought two months after Browne vs. Schaub when she defeated Cat Zingano via a record-setting 14-second armbar submission at UFC 184. She retired three fights later in 2018 after back-to-back knockout losses against Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes.
Schaub retired the year after his Browne loss, citing the Reebok apparel deal with UFC as a big reason and infamously being told he wasn’t good enough to cut it as a champion by UFC commentator, Joe Rogan.
“When Travis knocked him out at the end of the first round, I didn’t think it could get any more gratifying,” Rousey said. “My ex covered up on the ground while Travis pounded away on him. The referee waved the match over. Then Travis, towering over the crumpled, semi-conscious body of my ex, leaned down and whispered something in his ear. His words were indiscernible to the camera, but I swore I could hear Travis’ voice saying, ‘Ronda says f—k you.’”