In a recent interview, former bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey, admitted that she was out of her feet the minute Holly landed a powerful punch in the first round.
A lot of people were shocked when the longtime reigning MMA bantamweight champion lost her title just into the second round of UFC 194 held last November. As with any downfall, there were supporters who expressed their loyalty to the former champ, while others finally had their chance to throw some nasty comments like she has never done anything remarkable in the MMA industry. While some believed that Rousey just met her match, McMann believed what Rousey told the media during the interview.
“Did you see her? Did you see her face? Did you see her focus in her eyes? Look at that and look at it compared to her highest level judo matches. Look at her other fights. You could see mentally she was different. Now, maybe Holly created that. Or maybe Ronda brought it into the fight. There’s no telling. Either way, she was different. But I can guarantee you it’s not gonna happen twice,” McMann said.
Just like the others, McMann has no idea when the rematch will happen. Dana White revealed that the promotion company is aiming for UFC 200 in July, but there’s no telling if Rousey would be ready by then. One thing’s for sure according to McMann though- it’s that Rousey will be better.
“This next one? That’s not going to be the fight that she’s in at all. With Ronda more composed, she doesn’t have to be a better striker to beat Holly. Because Holly beat her and she definitely wasn’t a better grappler. I’m excited to see where this chess match goes. I think it’s going to be an unbelievable fight.” McMann said.
Rousey was definitely one of the best coming into UFC 194. She was able to win all of her 12 fights, the last three of those MMA contenders lasting in combined 64 seconds. Everyone else didn’t make it to the second round, except for Miesha Tate, and now, Holly Holm.
Setting all those aside, McMann says that the former bantamweight champ’s lifetime of training did her wonders against Holm. Rousey kept on charging forward even though everything is going downhill after that powerful punch. Contrary to what people are saying about Rousey, McMann believes that the former champ isn’t broken at all. Losing to Holly Holm didn’t take really take all the accomplishments Rousey was able to achieve in her career.
“That says something about the mentality she still had in that fight. She still believed she was going to get a hold of her and that she was going to break her arm — 100 percent, until she went unconscious. As an athlete, she has earned a certain amount of respect for what she’s already done. Don’t you dare take that away from her. There’s a lot of blood and sweat and tears and surgeries for her to get where she’s gotten. Don’t discredit where credit is due,” McMann added.