Ronda Rousey isn’t returning to the mixed martial arts (MMA) world.
The most influential woman in the sport’s history saw her career come to a screeching halt in early 2017. Rousey’s never-before-seen dominance in a 12-fight stretch set the world ablaze and unceremoniously ended via a Holly Holm head kick at UFC 193 in 2015.
One year later, Rousey returned to try and reclaim gold against the new champion, Amanda Nunes, at UFC 207 in December 2016. “Rowdy” kept quiet between the fights and continued to remain as such after another tough loss before heading to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Rousey has recently touched on the end of her MMA career more than ever before with the release of her new book, Our Fight. However, receptions to some of her comments haven’t been received too well. In response to Rousey recently claiming she’d be booed if she went to another UFC event, her ex-boyfriend, Brendan Schaub, disagreed.
“That’s not the narrative on you in the public eye,” Schaub said on Thiccc Boy. “If Ronda walks the streets, no one’s booing her. No one’s being mean to her. That’s not real, that’s in her head. I think also, she hasn’t talked to anybody in the MMA space. I guarantee you [Joe] Rogan would have her on. Guarantee you Luke Thomas would have her on, Ariel Helwani would have her on. The main dudes in the space would have her on. She’s not reaching out to them, she’s just, ‘Oh, they hate me.’ No, no, no. Matter of fact, I bet all three of those guys I mentioned are cool with you. You might not be cool with them for whatever reason, I don’t know, but I guarantee they’d give you a fair shot. No one’s going to be mean to you. It would go a long ways for your career.
“Ronda’s a sweet girl, sweet lady, she’s done so much for the game, I don’t know who she’s surrounded with, I’m not saying Travis [Browne], that’s different,” he continued. “Her management team, PR (public relations) team, she has the same manager as [Dwayne] ‘The Rock’ [Johnson] … Whoever’s directing her to take this narrative of playing victim, all of that s—t is not the way to go. She just needs to face it head-on.”
Despite the recent shots taken by Rousey toward Schaub, the former UFC Heavyweight contender places more of the blame on Rousey’s team than herself. A fellow magnet to criticism during and after his MMA career, Schaub believes it would be the best thing for Rousey to own up to any shortcomings and give credit where it was due on the opposite side of her results.
“She’s acting like she’s the only one that people critique,” Schaub said. “No, everyone gets this. That’s the game.
“It’s the same thing over and over,” he continued. “To keep doing these interviews the same way ain’t the way to go. Figure it out. You’re talking about one of the greatest athletes to ever compete. F—k male, female, you’re talking one of the greatest ever. Judo, UFC, Strikeforce, ever. I know it didn’t end well. All good. A lot of peoples’ careers don’t end well.
“This poor me story. No one’s feeling sorry for you,” Schaub concluded. “You’re one of the greatest to ever do it. Whoever is telling you different, fire ‘em. Show a little humility, say I f—ked up here.”