UFC president Dana White recently addressed the tumultuous end to Ronda Rousey’s career, offering an explanation as to why it was “impossible” to keep up with other female fighters at the time.
White believes Rousey’s role as an ambassador for the sport, and a relentless focus on bringing it to the mainstream, caused her downfall. Her split attention helped diminish her ability to train for fights.
His comments surfaced on a recent episode of “The Club Shay Shay” podcast with Shannon Sharpe.
“What happened with Ronda was — Ronda was very unique in that she came in and put this thing on the world stage,” White explained. “This thing being women fighting.”
“She put it on the world stage at a level that nobody else could have done it. While she was doing what she was doing, building the sport and the UFC and women, all these other women were training to beat her.”
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Dana White Says It Was ‘Impossible’ For Ronda Rousey To Keep Pace
White continued to expand on the premise that Rousey was pulled in too many directions to keep pace. Ultimately leading to her spectacular downfall in the UFC.
“She had taken so much on her shoulders at the time, it was literally impossible for her to keep growing as a fighter during that period,” he revealed.
Earlier in the interview with Sharpe, Dana White declared Ronda Rousey to be without question “the greatest athlete I’ve ever worked with.”
He added that it was sad to see her depart the sport she had brought to a wider audience. But the timing was right.
“She had done everything she set out to do,” said White. “Not just for her and her career but what she did for women in fighting in general.”
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The Greatest Fighter?
Dana White believes her to be the “greatest athlete” he’s ever worked with. So does Ronda Rousey view herself as the “greatest fighter” ever?
She controversially claimed in an interview earlier this year to knowing “I’m the greatest fighter that has ever lived”.
Rousey had been reflecting on her mindset at the time of her fight with Holly Holm at UFC 193. That stunning defeat coupled with a follow-up first-round TKO at the fists of Amanda Nunes in 2016, marked the end of her career.
Rousey has been somewhat less than gracious in offering a retrospective on the Holm fight. She’s offered excuses ranging from a “bad” mouthguard to a fall on the stairs and on to her weight loss at the time.
Before Holms, she was without question spectacular. She fought 6 times in the UFC and won all 6 bouts. All of them were via knockout or submission. Multiple times she defeated her opponent in under 20 seconds.
Now, however, she’s spent significant time tarnishing her accomplishments by engaging in an excuse and revenge tour regarding the two losses.
Is White’s defense of what happened at the end of her career enough to clean up the mess she’s made?
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