Ronda Rousey May Be the Most Hated Figure in Combat Sports

There may be no figure more hated in combat sports right now than Ronda Rousey, who, after talking publicly through the year, seemingly continues to attract backlash.

Rousey shook up the MMA game as the world’s first major women’s champion in the UFC, reigning as a bantamweight champion for three years with victories over Miesha Tate, Cat Zingano, and Bethe Correia until she eventually came unstuck against Holly Holm, losing by knockout at UFC 193 in 2015, before losing again by knockout to Amanda Nunes the following year.

The UFC enshrined her into its Hall of Fame in 2018 and though Rousey has not fought in the UFC since, she continues to generate headlines — lately, because of things prominent people in the sport have said about her, ranging from anecdotes regarding animosity toward her from those behind the scene, and how she’s never been able to accept responsibility for her back-to-back losses.

A former UFC commentator Jimmy Smith, for instance, said many people “couldn’t stand” Rousey, when speaking on the Unlocking The Cage podcast. More recently, MMA veteran Matt Smith told MMA Fighting that fans may begin to appreciate Rousey if she showed “some humility.”

People ‘Can’t Stand’ Ronda Rousey, Jimmy Smith Says

Rousey, in an interview ơn The Chris Cuomo Project on April 23, said she was disappointed “to see how happily everybody turned on” her, including the UFC commentator and popular podcaster Joe Rogan. She added: “The MMA media hates me. Not a single person has called me or anything like that.”

Smith, speaking on the Unlocking The Cage podcast, appeared to take umbrage to Rousey’s comments, saying: “Everybody behind the scenes that had to put a mic on Ronda Rousey couldn’t stand her.”

Elaborating, Smith said he spoke to people who had to work with her and, apparently, Rousey was unkind “the moment she sat down, to the moment she got up.”

He said: “She’s just miserable, and she’s mean to us, and we can’t stand her. They were cheering when she got knocked out.”

Rousey Needs to Show ‘Humility,’ According to Matt Smith

To get fans back on her side, Rousey needs to accept responsibility for her losses to Holm and Nunes.

“It’s just sad because she’s got to live with herself,” said Matt Brown to MMA Fighting. “That’s the sad part. I’ve got losses, I’ve got way more losses than Ronda. I fought a lot more times than Ronda. But you don’t want to go around living that way, blaming other people for the way your life is or the way that you’re portrayed.”

He continued: “I don’t doubt for a second that she could reconcile everything. Like, she could walk in and show a little bit of humility … and everybody would be bowing down to her again.”

Smith suggested Rousey should high a “PR person” to tell her “what to say.” If she does this, then “the world is yours again,” he said, and she’s atop the celebrity lists.

Currently, though. “no one wants to hear [what] she’s saying.”

The UFC’s live event business, meanwhile, continues with the big pay-per-view event Saturday in New Jersey which features a main event between the UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and the challenger Dustin Poirier.