Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion gave her first major interview since her shocking loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November last year. In an appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show on February 16th, Rousey describes the harrowing moments after she was handed her first MMA loss:
“I was literally sitting there and thinking about killing myself and that exact second I’m like 'I’m nothing, what do I do anymore and no one gives a s*** about me anymore without this. To be honest, I looked up and I saw my man Travis was standing up there and I looked up at him and I was like, I need to have his babies. I need to stay alive.”
Rousey was the favorite heading into the fight with Holm, who has had an illustrious boxing career but was a relative newcomer in the UFC. A finish eluded Rousey and she was thoroughly outclassed before being knocked out by a head kick in the second round.
Coming off dominant wins against Cat Zingano and Bethe Correia, Rousey was making her third title defense within a year and opined that the stress of such high-stakes fights caught up with her.
Said Rousey, “I think the one thing that was different was that it was my third title fight in nine months and I don't think anyone has ever attempted that before.” She went on to reveal that she was off her game during the fight, saying, “In that first hit I cut open my whole mouth and I knocked my teeth loose. I knew she was out there, but like I really don’t remember most of it.So I was trying my best to kind of hide the fact that I wasn’t even there anymore.”
A rematch was speculated for UFC 200, but it seems that Rousey will take her time returning to the octagon and November might be a likelier date.
