Ronda Rousey refuses to watch The Ultimate Fighter after being exposed to the show’s inner workings while coaching Season 18 across from her rival, Miesha Tate.
Rousey, once a fan of the show, recently spoke with Sportsnet Canada, expressing her belief that the show is “b——t” and saying that she never tunes in to catch the current season’s crop of up-and-coming fighters.
“I don’t watch The Ultimate Fighter now that I know how much b—–t is in it,” Rousey said. “I don’t support it.”
The UFC women’s bantamweight champion continued her rant, stating that the show’s producers are to blame for the extensive amount of drama and nonsense which airs on a weekly basis.
According to Rousey, these producers know nothing about the fight game, and their portrayal of the athletes and coaches is far from accurate.
“They don’t know the first thing about fighting,” Rousey said. “They only know about reality TV and they treated us like we were Real Housewives of Atlanta and not elite athletes that should be respected. And I don’t support people like that so I don’t watch the show anymore.”
UFC President Dana White confirmed Rousey‘s feelings to Sportsnet, saying that it was “no secret” that the female MMA superstar did not enjoy her time on the show.
During Season 18, Rousey was painted as the “bad girl,” flipping off Tate and disrespecting her rival in nearly every episode. While the show did not gain “Rowdy” many new fans, it certainly made her more polarizing, a fact which helped her become one of the biggest stars on the UFC roster.
Currently, former lightweight rivals turned featherweights BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar coach Season 19 of The Ultimate Fighter. Three weeks into the season, the fights have delivered, showcasing some solid all-around talent from the current cast.
Of course, the show still features some of that fabricated tension, too, so don’t expect Rousey to flip over to Fox Sports 1 any time soon.
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