Contributor: Nolan Howell
Dana White went on Fox Sports Live LAST Thursday to discuss the return of Ronda Rousey at UFC 207. Rousey looks to reclaim the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship from Amanda Nunes in the main event after what will be a year-long hiatus after losing the title to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November of 2015.
That hiatus was discussed by White, who had an interesting theory as to why Rousey stayed away from the cage for so long after her first professional loss:
“The thing that people have to understand about Ronda is that she is so competitive – you know, who likes to lose? Nobody does but she is like the next level and I think she just wanted time. She had some issues but her biggest issues, in my opinion, were with the media. She just felt like the media completely turned on her when she lost…Not abandoned. She felt attacked. She felt like these people in the media that she gave three years of her life cruising around, giving interviews to completely turned on her when she lost.
“I’ve been doing this for 16 years and I’ve had my moments with the media and the media can irritate you. If you go through something traumatic like she did, losing and everything else, and you have to listen to some of the things being written and said, I get it”
White proves that he remains comically unaware when discussing all things Rousey in this statement.
White ignores the opportunities media gave Rousey post-loss to discuss her mentality in the wake of the Holm fight, including an embarrassing rambling on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where she revealed a bout of depression being cured by a desire to bear UFC heavyweight Travis Browne’s children. Rousey was given a spotlight to regain whatever shine he believed she lost and took the opportunity to make Tom Cruise jumping on a couch look like even-keeled daytime. Apart from this and a sad statement about her inability to eat apples after getting dropped by a head kick, Rousey retreated after bungling opportunities rarely afforded to sports losers.
Additionally, Rousey has continued to be trumpeted by media as perhaps the most powerful female athlete in the history of women’s athletics. In an attempt to continue to draw eyes, focus within
MMA media or sports media focused on the sport have continued to roll with the sure thing in Rousey speculation about a return, a fight with Cris “Cyborg” Justino, and many other subjects. This coverage all took precedent over focus on women’s champions like Miesha Tate and Holly Holm. It even overwhelmed a potentially great chance to market current champion Amanda Nunes as the first openly gay champion in the history of the sport.
White neglects these facts and even has the gall to suggest that media have been ungrateful for the opportunities they have had to “work for” Rousey, in a sense. This backwards thinking is a staple of UFC media relations, where outlets should be grateful to be accepted by the promotion rather than fighters using the media for better or more positive exposure.
Rousey has been given the chance to be herself because of her unique position as a pioneer in women’s athletics and she has maintained her credibility in spite of the numerous missteps and revelations about Rousey as a person. Between wooden movie cameos and taking the cover of swimsuit magazines usually reserved for women who hold the title of swimsuit model, Rousey has been revered by media and given ample chance to cultivate her public persona. The onus is on the athlete and their promoter to make the most of it and the burden of any negative publicity falls on them.
Rousey will need to improve her defense when the real punches from the peanut gallery get thrown.
-Nolan can be reached at [email protected]
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