Matt Brown: Ronda Rousey Lacks HumilityMMAnytt.com

UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey has been discussing her career and its end more frequently over the past few months while promoting her autobiography. She has openly talked about how multiple concussions led to her retirement and that a concussion before her fight against Holly Holm played a crucial role in her first loss.

Rousey’s Complaints

Rousey has recently claimed that she has been vilified by the MMA media and that her accomplishments have been overshadowed by negativity to the point that she believes she would be booed if she appeared at a UFC event. UFC veteran Matt Brown, who recently retired, finds it difficult to understand why Rousey is complaining so much, especially given her level of fame.

“I mean, the first thing that comes to my mind is, what’s the problem?” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “Is she complaining? What’s the problem? Maybe people have said bad things about you. Welcome to being a human. Welcome to being famous. What did you expect?”

Handling Losses and Injuries

Brown believes that if Rousey really wants to understand why she’s fallen out of favor with UFC fans, she should look no further than the numerous interviews she’s given to promote her book. Rousey has laid out a long list of reasons for her struggles in the losses to Holm and Amanda Nunes at the end of her career. She has stated specifically that those losses hurt her much more because no one has ever loved being a UFC champion like she did.

Through all of this, Rousey has detailed what went wrong during her UFC career but has barely acknowledged Holm or Nunes as opponents, let alone what they did right to beat her.

“I get where she’s bitter and can’t accept the loss and blaming it externally is always the wrong thing,” Brown said. “Even if you were injured, and I can relate to this because it’s happened to me. I’ve been injured in fights. I’ve been sick. I’ve had the flu in fights. I’ve got a lot of fights. You don’t have 50 fights and it go right every time.”

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A Call for Humility

Brown believes that Rousey, by continuously explaining why she lost instead of accepting her defeats, is reinforcing the perception that she’s making excuses.

“So for her to think that she’s special because she had a concussion, it’s just silliness. I could look at a loss and give you all the reasons why I lost. But anytime you say it out loud, it’s an excuse. It’s purely an excuse.”

Brown also takes issue with the way Rousey has seemingly portrayed her experiences as unique because of her high profile in the sport. While acknowledging that Rousey faced pressures and expectations unlike almost anyone else, Brown says that the emotions and struggles fighters face are nearly universal.

“This is everyday fighter stuff. You’re just not a fighter,” Brown said. “She didn’t go through anything that anyone else hasn’t gone through. Of course, it happened to her on a much bigger stage than most, which is what I think got to her. She wasn’t mentally prepared for that type of stage and just didn’t handle it well.”

The Path to Redemption

If Rousey truly wanted to be embraced by UFC fans again, Brown believes it’s possible, but he doesn’t expect her to take the necessary steps to rebuild that bridge.

“Most of the MMA world wants to love her,” Brown said. “She’s a perfect figure for us all to love and attach to. She has all the right qualities, but she pushes us away. She pushes that away from her. I think every fan wants to love her.”

Sources:

MMA Fighting, MMA Junkie, The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast