Trump ‘Glad to see Rousey lose fight’
Trump tweets that his is glad to see Rousey lose her championship fight, and says she is “not a nice person”.
Glad to see that @RondaRousey lost her championship fight last night. Was soundly beaten – not a nice person!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2015
‘Trump can shut his big mouth’
UFC’s McGregor criticizes Trump for his negative tweet about Rousey (he had called her “a bad person”).
It’s easy for someone that’s not in there to comment, but it’s different when you’re in there. The emotions are high. It is what it is. You either want to touch gloves or you don’t. That means nothing, so Donald can shut his big, fat mouth. I don’t give a f-ck about Donald Trump.
RIZIN CEO: McGregor, Rousey great for Japan
Sakakibara says McGregor and Rousey would be welcomed in Japanese MMA.
He would do fantastic. The fans would go crazy over him. Their style, Conor and Ronda, given the weight class and divisions of who they are, being able to make such a huge success financially, that has changed history within the fight game.
White: Rousey will eclipse McGregor
White says Rousey’s return will topple all UFC pay-per-view records set by McGregor, including his UFC 196 fight with Nate Diaz that raked in 1.5 million PPV buys and an estimated million-plus buys estimated for UFC 202.
I think that Ronda Rousey’s return will be the biggest pay-per-view we’ve ever done…If you had told me 15 years ago that women would be fighting in the UFC – and if you told me that women would be as technically sound as the men and the fights would be loved by millions of people all over the world and it’d be the hottest thing going on in the UFC – I would have never believed it.
Eyeing December return to Octagon
Coach Tarverdyan says a Rousey fight with reigning UFC bantamweight champion Nunes has been discussed for Dec. 30 in Las Vegas, but that no decision has been made yet as Rousey works her way back into form following a minor knee surgery this summer. He also confirms that Rousey has been training for the past month in preparation for a comeback but does not promise it would be before the end of the year.
There have been talks about her coming back, but we haven’t made a final decision yet. There’s a chance she fights to get her belt back this year, but nothing is set yet. If we do make a comeback this year, we will. If not we will make it next year. We want to thank all our fans for being patient. When she does come back, we promise the best Ronda Rousey that anyone has ever seen.
White: Rousey still biggest star in UFC history
White says Rousey is the biggest draw in UFC. Part of White’s reasoning comes from her fight against Bethe Correia in 2015 when she received a raucous reception from the home crowd despite facing a native Brazilian.
[She’s the biggest] by far. Not even close, by far the biggest star ever. Ronda Rousey is such a big star that when you go down to Brazil, I don’t know if you guys have watched any of the fights we do from Brazil — they don’t care who you are. They want the Brazilian to whoop your ass. When Ronda went down there, they cheered for Ronda over the Brazilian. Never seen that before in my life and will probably never see it again. That’s how big Ronda Rousey is.
Announces Rousey vs. Nunes
White announces that Rousey and Nunes will fight for the 135 pounds title in UFC 207 on December 30th.
White: Rousey to fight Cyborg on win
White says if Rousey wins her fight against Nunes, she will then face Justino.
I know that Cyborg wants that fight. Ronda wants that fight too. Ronda’s plan right now is to come back and try to win her title back. If that happens, the Cyborg fight will definitely happen.
Hopes Rousey took inspiration from his defeat
McGregor says he is excited by Rousey’s return to the octagon.
I’m very excited. It’s good to finally see her back. I think loses can really affect you. It’s a crazy business we’re in, especially at the very high top. I hope she took inspiration on how I came back from my defeat and I wish her all the best. She’s fighting a solid competitor.
White: Rousey ‘winding down’
White says Rousey has informed him of her retirement intentions as she plans to commit full time to acting.
I don’t wanna take the wind out of her sails. Let her say her own stuff but obviously I know what’s going on with her. But ya, it’s winding down for Ronda. Listen, Ronda Rousey’s made a lot of money. She accomplished what she set out to do… And she loves acting, she’s good at it and, if she dedicates herself she’ll be even better at it.
McMann wants Rousey rematch
McMann says she wants a rematch with Rousey even if it is not for a title, saying she want to avenge her 2014 loss of the bantamweight champion in a 66-second TKO.
I can still fight Ronda even if it’s not for a championship. Avenging losses is personal for me. It’s not simply for a title. I would perfectly fine to win the title and then have them come after me and avenge my losses that way. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I don’t care about the particular order. If you are an athlete in the UFC, you probably shouldn’t care about what particular order you get either simply because that decision-making process is out of your control.
Scared of calling herself famous
Rousey says she is scared of thinking of herself as a famous person.
I try not to call myself famous or think about it too much, because I’m scared of it. I’m really scared to lose my reference on reality. If you are socially unhealthy then you’ll be mentally unhealthy, so I’m trying to remain socially healthy so I don’t lose my reference on what’s real. It’s a human sport, there’s an instinct in every person on this planet to fight, at any age. Everyone has a reason to fight. You have to have the personality to fight, and you can’t learn personality, you just have it. Fighters are born, and I was a born fighter.
Describes nervousness before fights
Rousey talks about her nervousness before fights.
I call it ‘two-week-itis.’ That’s when I’m the most emotional. My body is the most broken down. I will literally cry over spilled milk on ‘two-week- itis’ time. But by the time I’m actually waking out, I’m tired of being nervous and I’m just not nervous anymore. I just know what I need to do.
Note: Video not available in UK.
White: Rousey in ‘sick shape’
White says Rousey is in great condition:
Yeah. It is exciting. Obviously, the return of Ronda is a big deal. She is taken this thing so seriously. Guess what she is weighing right now? 135 lbs. She is doing everything she can to keep her weight on. She is in sick shape.
Rousey: I’ll finish Nunes in first round
On Conan, Rousey responds to Nunes prediction that Nunes would beat her in the first round.
Well she kind of has to say that because everyone knows she gasses out in the second so she has to tell herself that,” Rousey said. “What else is she going to tell herself? She has to sleep at night somehow.
VanZant would go to 125 to fight Rousey
Van Zant talks about Rousey:
I think it could be her last fight. It’s a big deal for her. But she’s so successful outside of fighting she doesn’t need to fight any more….I don’t belive in ring rust, I belive it’s 100% mental, so if she’s 100% mentally focused then she’s gonna win it. I’s say she’ll [beat Nunes] by armbar…I would consider going up to 125 [to fight her].
Harrison: ‘Ronda loves to walk around naked’
Harrison says Rousey, her former roommate, likes to walk around the house naked.
There’s a lot of things the world doesn’t know about Ronda. She won’t care if I say this and it’s a very Ronda thing to say, but Ronda loves to walk around the house in the nude. There would be times I would come home from school or work or whatever and she would just be sitting at the counter eating butt naked, and I’m like ‘Ronda!’ and she’d be like ‘I feel most comfortable like this’. And I’m like ‘OK Ron, whatever’. The first time I was 16 and I walked in the door and she was butt naked and I was like, ‘Oh! ok, cool’. We train together, we work out together, when you weigh in for judo you weigh in usually naked, so we’re pretty comfortable.
Rousey: McGregor took the weight off my shoulders
Rousey says that White originally wanted her to headline at UFC 205, but that McGregor headlining that fight allowed her to have a break and to focus on the upcoming fight with Amanda Nunes.
Conor gave me the chance to rest, he took the weight off my shoulders, and for that I’m grateful. I will never put my body at risk for money and views ever again. What makes me happy is winning and being the best in the world and that’s it. Fuck all the promotion and energy spent on anything that’s not me winning. And anyone who tries to tell me I owe them energy on frivolous shit during camp out of ‘loyalty’ or ‘friendship’ deserves no loyalty from me and is no friend of mine. This is not a time for f-cking favors. This is a time for redemption and revenge.
Triple H open to talks with Rousey, McGregor
Speaking as the WWE launches their United Kingdom Championship Tournament, Triple H, in his role as WWE executive vice president of talent, live events and creative, says Rousey could appear in the company in the future.
Never say never with us. Ronda’s done things with us in the past. She’s a huge fan. She had a blast when she did it. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if, as she begins to wrap up her UFC career, as she’s looking to do other things, if we’re a part of that conversation for her.
On a possible McGregor role in WWE:
[McGregor’s] very calculated in the things he says and does. He doesn’t mention us because it just came out. He has made his point. I have made my point when I have been asked about it. He is a business man. I am a businessman. If the time is right for us to sit at the table, if there is an opportunity that we have or he wants to have, then we’ll discuss it. For them and for us, then who knows, you know? We’ll see. We’re wide open
Will not take part in UFC 207 media activities
The UFC says neither Rousey nor current titleholder Nunes will take part in the week’s lone media session, Wednesday’s Ultimate Media Day, which is closed to the public. Ultimate Media Day will instead feature the remaining UFC 207 main-card fighters. Both fighters will, however, appear at the official weigh-in.