Life isn’t easy for a professional athlete and when you’re one of the most sought after personalities in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA), like Ronda Rousey, it can be especially tough.
The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion has endured a rough stretch of months following her title loss to current 135-pound queen bee Holly Holm and recently revealed that she had suicidal thoughts, which “The Preacher’s Daughter” will not apologize for.
Probably because of this.
Although Rousey has tried to keep a low-profile since being upended in Australia last November, the Glendale Fight Club product has begun making the media rounds again, speaking with MMA Junkie about her extended break from competing.
“It’s been surprising to me how happy I’ve been being away from [fighting]. I’m being purposefully mysterious right now because I think people have taken my availability for granted and I’ve kind of just wanted to disappear. I don’t look at articles. I don’t look at tags. I don’t look at comments. People on the Internet are mostly evil, and I don’t want to accept any of that negativity.”
Her last opponent, Holm, was forced to deal with the internet trolls, too.
Several well-known figures in combat sports, as well as past rivals, have given their take as to how far the damage actually goes when one suffers as brutal of a defeat as Rousey did.
And now she’s faced with another controversy after someone inadvertently posted a photoshopped image of her recent appearance on Jimmy Fallon, making her arms look smaller than they actually are. That’s something that, according to Rousey, goes against her stance on women’s body issues.
Take a look:
Her caption:
“I have to make an apology to everyone – I was sent a picture to share on social for Fallon that was altered without me knowing to make my arms look smaller. I won’t say by who – I know it was done with severely misplaced positive intentions – but this goes against everything I believe and I am extremely proud of every inch of my body. And I can assure you all it will never happen again. I could not be more appalled and hope you all forgive me.”
Rousey, by her own admission, has no problem appearing “heavier” in public (proof).
For what it’s worth, Rousey is only using social media to communicate in a professional manner for the time being, while she continues to work her way back into fighting shape. But just like one of her major movie roles, the Olympic gold medalist’s return to the Octagon has been pushed back.