A lot of people got a bit got a bit carried away during the Ronda Rousey era, including Joe Rogan.
Back when Ronda Rousey was undefeated, the biggest superstar in the sport, the “pound for pound greatest fighter ever” and when she would have handed Floyd Mayweather’s ass to him, the hyperbole machine went into overdrive.
It was understandable considering she was murking every opponent the UFC matched up against her, but in hindsight her dominance could be attributed to the developing nature of the women’s bantamweight division.
Now that she’s after getting knocked out two times in a row, admittedly against two of the most elite fighters in the division, some of the things that got bandied about seem ridiculous. Particularly UFC colour commentator Joe Rogan’s claim that she could defeat a lot of her male counterparts.
It wasn’t helped by the fact that he doubled down on the claim a few weeks after he dropped it on his podcast.
“People got upset when I said that I think she could beat a lot of men in her weight class.”
#SheDontNeed12Rounds@RondaRousey pic.twitter.com/UKBmEAQXBJ
— UFC (@ufc) August 7, 2015
The UFC hype merchant has finally come to his senses. No longer does he think that Rousey could dominate male bantamweights, as he explained on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.
He confessed that he has a tendency to exaggerate and that comment about Rousey’s abilities was a prime example of this trait.
“I’m not happy that Ronda Rousey lost, but in a way, it makes things easier because there was a bunch of fucking people that were going, ‘Oh yeah, what about Ronda Rousey? She’d beat…’ And I made the mistake of saying. Hyperbole, I’m the master of hyperbole, I exaggerate all the time. I was like, ‘She could probably beat half the men bantamweights in the UFC.’
“No, that’s definitely not true. I shouldn’t have said it at the time. Now, it’s definitely not true.”
However, he believes that because of Rousey’s incredible skills, she can still do a number on some men, just not those competing at the highest level.
“She could beat a few, that aren’t good outside the sport. Look, if she gets guys on the ground she could fuck a lot of people up. Her Judo is 100% legit, her armbars are amongst the best in the business, but people were always saying that. Now that she’s lost everyone’s relaxed with that.”
CM Punk needs a fight.
Just saying.
