Love him or loathe him, Floyd Mayweather was on the money with his motivational message to Ronda Rousey following her crushing defeat at UFC 207.
Before the “beef” between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor started up, the boxing great was involved in a back-and-forth with Ronda Rousey.
However, that was a very different Rousey than the one we’re seeing before us right now. At that time, she was on top of the world.
She was an undefeated champion with an air of invincibility who was breaking into the mainstream as the biggest superstar in the sport. She was the first and only fighter to hold the UFC women’s bantamweight champion and was credited for making women’s MMA popular. This is remarkable feat considering the promotion’s president infamously said that there would never be female fighters on the roster.
The media were hanging on her every word and after beating Mayweather to the Best Fighter award at the 2015 ESPYs, she gave them a sound bite that had them rubbing their hands together.
However, the only champion that remains undefeated and never retires is time. With the 135 lb division still forming while Rousey was at the peak of her powers, that crafty bastard time was always lurking around the corner waiting to deliver the coup de grace.
The level of competition in the weigh class steadily improved and the challengers being lined up to fight Rousey were becoming more versatile, technically proficient and tactically savvy. In the end it was Holly Holm’s lateral movement and vicious striking style that knocked her off her perch, then Amanda Nunes’ ferocious power and accuracy spoiled her return party at UFC 207.
She had lost the belt by knockout and at her first chance at redemption, she was starched again. After going unbeaten for 12-straight contests she had tasted the most violent form of defeat twice on the bounce, and she had lost her trust in her former friend ‘the media’ in the process.
Lit her up like a Christmas tree #UFC207 https://t.co/pGOw7l8jpQ
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) December 31, 2016
No one is certain what Rousey is planning for her next move. Chael Sonnen believes it won’t be towards Hollywood, and the incredible PPV numbers for UFC 207 confirm fans still want to see her inside the Octagon. That’s exactly what her former media foe Mayweather thinks she should do, as he explained to FightHype.
“Ronda Rousey, hold your head up, stay focused, keep believing. A true champion can bounce back. You’ll be ok, everything will be ok.”
Rousey had taken a considerable amount of time off between losing to Holm and coming back to fight Nunes. While she was sitting on the sidelines, the Brazilian defeated two of the division’s toughest fighters, Valentina Shevchenko and Miesha Tate. Money believes this time off affected her performance, and she was thrust back into the deep end too quickly.
“Her losing had a lot to do with time off. She may should have competed against another female MMA fighter that wasn’t as active as the female that she faced. I think that the female she faced was rugged and tough, so we can’t take anything away from the female that she faced. The girl that Ronda Rousey faced, she was a tough competitor. She was the better woman that night.”
His advice to Rousey is raw and a bit hackneyed, but so few people are saying it. Her true talent lies in the fight game and that’s exactly what she should focus on, if she still has that fire in her belly that saw her reach the zenith of the sport.
“Ronda Rousey has a lot left. I don’t want her to think it’s the end of the world. She’s hearing it from the best. She’ll be ok. Ronda Rousey, hold your head up. You’re still the true champion in our eyes. You made women’s MMA huge. So stay focused, go back to the drawing board and do what you got to do. Ok?”
“2017 is a whole new year. That was last year. That was 2016, if I’m not mistaken. Now it’s 2017. So, you’re undefeated this year. Come back champ.”
Sage advice from an unlikely source.
