Ronda Rousey has been in the headlines all week after stating in an interview that she contemplated killing herself in the moments just after losing to Holly Holm at UFC 193 last November.
There have been a number of opinions expressed on the matter, but top 10-ranked welterweight Matt Brown said on the latest "Great MMA Debate" podcast that for all the flack that Rousey's getting for making what seems to be a shocking revelation isn't actually all that uncommon for fighters.
"She's just one of a million to feel that way. Every athlete that loses feels that exact same thing. She's not special in that regard," Brown said on the show.
"A day or two later, I can see her saying I felt suicidal or whatever. That's not an uncommon feeling. I've felt that same way before. I lost three in a row and had newborn babies and didn't know when I was going to get another paycheck, thought I was going to be cut from the UFC. I felt the exact same feelings before."
The difference where Brown falls off the wagon to support Rousey is the fact that she said these statements nearly four months after losing to Holm.
Brown believes that Rousey still hasn't actually accepted the defeat because nowhere during her interview did her sadness turn to anger or determination with a focus on going back and beating Holm in the rematch.
Obviously, Rousey said that she was going to fight Holm a second time, but he didn't hear her pay any credit to the current champion for the win nor did she sound all that excited about doing it over again.
"It's a fundamental flaw in her psychology," Brown explained. "It's Day One s--t. I don't claim to be the best fighter, but I guarantee I have put in as much time if not the most time of any fighter you've ever met, I guarantee I put in as much if not more time on the mental side of this game, the psychology, the mental training. I'm constantly reading about it. I've probably talked to 20 different sports psychologists in my life.
"You had four months to deal with this. By now the lesson should be learned and you should be moving forward and I didn't hear that."
Brown also speaks to the example Rousey sets for the sport while appearing on nationally syndicated talk shows like "The Ellen Show" where millions of people are watching from around the world who may not be hardcore mixed martial arts fans.
Brown clearly understands the emotions Rousey felt after her loss, but he also says there's a way to express that while still being an example to kids as well as paying homage to your opponent for a job well done.
"Maybe she needed to do that. I could definitely be wrong in this. Maybe she just needed to go out and let it out a little bit," Brown said. "For me, I'd rather her as a representative for our sport, as a role model for young children, as someone that's representing our sport in front of millions of housewives who probably don't know anything about our sport, to go out there and talk nobly and honorably like a warrior. Give Holly her credit, accept what happened and talk about how she's going to move forward and do better. That's not what I got."
@ 2:08 -- "I really do believe I'm still undefeated cause being defeated is a choice. Everybody has losses in their life but I choose to always be undefeated."
Seriously concerned about her wellbeing. If she gets back in the cage with Holm, in this state, she's going to be hurt about as bad as anyone ever has been in the UFC.
This is seriously an absolute disaster in the making, Ronda is not mentally stable and shouldn't be fighting the best in the world, she's going to take a lot of unnecessary brain damage in this state. I can see it being a game changer where fighters are forced to pass a psych test. I foresee Ronda laying unconscious on the ground for a long time after this one, hope not, but this has tragedy written all over it in big capital letters. She's going to get laid out dead cold and it doesn't need to happen.
I can't wait until Conor and Ronda retire so we can all do a little bit more than make up bullshit attempts at being psychologists....like making up bullshit attempts at being MMA experts
Well, I do have a psychology degree. So ask a question, I can give pretty good rationale why she is in trouble. Focus, mental stability, emotional fluctuations will all severely effect her training and performance.
Stress causes the R brain (the lower brain) to instill fear and tension in the body in unison with the amygdala. This causes psychological and physical issues, can result in physical symptoms such as scar tissue and hypertension.
Rousey has to stress about
Browne and his wife
Her bossy mom
Her bankrupt shitty trainer
Her movie career
Brain damage and a broken jaw
Holm has to worry about
.....
Rousey is in big trouble.
If she were smart she would quit the movies, dump Browne, fire her trainer, tell her mom to shut the **** up about her personal life in public and go destress for 6 months. Come back with a new trainer and a new lifestyle.
Well, I do have a psychology degree. So ask a question, I can give pretty good rationale why she is in trouble. Focus, mental stability, emotional fluctuations will all severely effect her training and performance.
Stress causes the R brain (the lower brain) to instill fear and tension in the body in unison with the amygdala. This causes psychological and physical issues, can result in physical symptoms such as scar tissue and hypertension.
Rousey has to stress about
Browne and his wife
Her bossy mom
Her bankrupt shitty trainer
Her movie career
Brain damage and a broken jaw
Holm has to worry about
.....
Rousey is in big trouble.
If she were smart she would quit the movies, dump Browne, fire her trainer, tell her mom to shut the **** up about her personal life in public and go destress for 6 months. Come back with a new trainer and a new lifestyle.
I'm guessing you're not very successful at it, since you just presume that Holm has no shit to deal with just because shes not a attention seeking whore.
What a disaster. The UFC and Dana in particular built her into something unsustainable and fragile. Repeatedly talking about her like she was the greatest athlete on earth because she had beaten some mediocre female MMA fighters was a really bad idea. Sure it helped build a star and make the company money but now look at her, she's a mess and I think she showed how emotionally sensitive she was throughout her entire UFC career. I don't what it is about the USA but the media really create some mental shit out there. Even Joe Rogan was f'in crying on his podcast when she beat Correia, talking about how huge that moment was. What!? Why was he f'in crying!? Stop sensationalising Rousey's wins ffs! Madness.
We all know women's MMA is a low standard and she was the standout fighter from a shallow pool. That hype train just wasn't sustainable and they pushed her into the mainstream which set her up for an even bigger fall.
Rousey just cannot handle defeat. She has to be the best and she was a bully when she was. Then the bully got KO'd by a humble fighter and now she is an emotional wreck and will probably never get over that loss due to the size of the bubble that burst and her fragile emotional state.
There similarities with the McGregor situation but that is predominantly self hype. The UFC are obvious milking it for all its worth but there's not quite the massive push for him to be in the mainstream like Ronda although if he gravitated in that direction he could be as he's done talk shows etc too. He is also a composed and mentally stable guy who never gets angered and uptight like Ronda always has. When he loses it will be a big bubble burst but I bet he handles it well.
Rousey is not a good role model. That shit needs to stay in the past because her bad attitude always ends up showing and that is not what I'd want my kids to see. She has STILL not given Holm any genuine recognition, she is void of humility.
Some people must think psychologists, scientists, doctors, lawyers and other professionals can't enjoy MMA and actually participate in a MMA oriented forum. They must think all posters are bums with no education, typing from their parents basements, just like them.
It is very frustrating that whenever someone mentions their profession or what they went to school for they get belittled and doubted. Why do people get so defensive when they realize that (gasp!) someone might have more insight on subject than they do?
I try not to even mention my degree now because it seems like people just put up a wall and assume you are talking down to them.
Having a psychology degree and judging Ronda off of a video is like me having a games degree and telling you which game is the best.
You can't psychologically assess someone based off of a manufactured interview. For all we know it's a PR ploy. I'm not sure if anyone has ever had an accurate psychology examination off of a youtube video. It's just an assumption. Maybe these are "classic signs of" or maybe these are "Ronda wants attention". Who knows? It would take someone to actually sit down with her and actually properly assess her to get any form of accurate reading. Otherwise, your psychology degree is as important as anyone else's degree on the matter.
Next he'll say we can no longer gather in this site to discuss fighting, since we are not professional fighters/coaches nor we have a degree in martial arts. :confused05:
Raba seems to begin all his posts with "I have a psychology degree" :laugh: Just say your piece, people find it weird when you need to legitimize your opinion by bringing that up.
Well, it's interesting that Ronda continues to measure the value of her fighting career by what others can gain or perceive of it. There's a simple meaning and gain to be had by losing, becoming a better martial artist, for your OWN sake, not as some great example to the masses. It's weird. Kinda reminds me of Tito.
Eh, just a mean petty narcissist getting her dues, and continuing to remain a delusional narcissist as most such types do.
Pretty standard stuff, no need for deep analysis. If not MMA, real life would have taught her the same lessons.
Matt Brown is spot on.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Mixed Martial Arts Forum
1.9M posts
52.9K members
Since 2006
A mixed martial art forum community dedicated to the different arts of MMA. Come talk about UFC results, Bellator matches, The Ultimate Fighter and more!