One of the most anticipated fights of the year will take place during the Main Event of UFC 207. The Brazilian has won her last four fights and prompted Miesha Tate to retire after the title changed hands at UFC 200.
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The only journalist who has been given access to Rousey since Holm knocked her block off is ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and the long form piece she produced felt like a story on Rousey’s terms, touching only on her redemptive story.
Rousey has not fulfilled any of her pre-fight media commitments after apparently being hurt by the criticism following the Holm loss.
Despite his revelation, Schaub is still rooting for his former lover and believes she will reclaim her title as the poster girl for women’s MMA.
Rousey, of course, was ready with a response when she made an appearance on Conan O’Brien and was asked about Nunes’ comments. This will mark Rousey’s first fight since a crushing KO defeat to Holly Holm at UFC 193 and the long list of hard questions surrounding her mysterious hiatus were deemed an unnecessary distraction. “I don’t think she needs anything else because she won’t have this belt anymore”. “She has everything she wants already”.
But Tate reckons she would have been back sooner if her heart was truly in it. “I think she’s gonna play rough and play her style and use the strengths she’s been given and is used to”.
In the clinch, Rousey has proven to have a distinct advantage over the entire division and she will want to get a hold of Nunes and not try to stand and test her striking. So I don’t see it as being disrespectful at all. The once-dominant fighter is getting a repreive from interviews, something nearly never afforded in combat sports, which rely on pre-fight promotion.
UFC Strawweight Champion Ronda Rousey of the United States poses for photographers during the UFC 190 Rousey v Correia weigh-in at HSBC Arena on July 31, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Holm picked her off at will throughout the first round, making the champion look amateur.
But, in unprecedented circumstances, Rousey has not taken part in the fight week media obligations that all other fighters are forced to go through. “I don’t care about interviews and I don’t care how I look”, the 29-year-old Californian said in a brief video about the UFC 207 event posted by TMZ on Wednesday.
It is a well-known fact that Ronda Rousey has borrowed her “Rowdy” nickname from professional wrestling legend, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.
Nunes, like Cruz, has a pay-per-view stake in the success of UFC 207, so Rousey’s lack of promotion could very well hurt the champion’s wallet in the long run.
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Rousey is the most marketable name in the game and perhaps the biggest mainstream star in MMA history, and her return from last year’s shocking knockout loss to Holly Holm should be one of the biggest sports events of the holiday period. It’s too bad she hasn’t heeded by her own original message of empowerment and stood tall in the face of adversity.
