Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey failed in her bid to reclaim the championship against Amanda Nunes at UFC 207.
Since that defeat, the MMA world has been waiting to hear about Rousey’s future, but a UFC veteran in Ben Rothwell believes that if Rouey retires, she would be a loser.
“What matters is now,” Rothwell said to Fight Club. “What’s she going to do now? What matters is six months from now if she walks away from the sport and never fights again, she never has to have her name brought up again. If she can’t come back from everything she’s been through and being put on such a high pedestal and making waves, then she loses two fights and she doesn’t come back from that? Well, then she’s a loser and she never was a champion. Like him or hate him, but Conor McGregor man, what an example. The guy loses, does the media, comes back, wins a fight and then wins a title fight. Dominick Cruz, like him or hate him, he faced the media (after losing his title) and treated it like a champion. They set the bar for the rest of us. That’s how we need to act, that’s how you handle a loss and she needs to learn from the rest of us now.”
Rothwell also took shots at Travis Browne, a fellow heavyweight fighter and the boyfriend of Rousey.
“I have no problems talking (expletive) on him because he brings (expletive) on himself,” Rothwell said. “He’s one of the guys – I try to be nice to him and cool, and the more I learn about him, the more of his history, he’s one of those guys that’s just a man-whore. He’s a phony, and a lot of (expletive) pisses me off with him. Why did you suddenly leave a great camp that made him good and move to a (expletive) gym that’s got a lot of guys losing? For me, I think it was a financial thing. He went there and found a sugar mama in his girlfriend. He’s just looking to get himself taken care of. He’s got some brains in, like, ‘Why should I fight? I’ll just get her to pay for everything.’ It’s a good financial move on his part, but it hasn’t done his personal career any good and a lot of people think the guy has regressed and he’s not getting any better. He’s lost his footwork, he’s lost a lot of different things that made him good. We’re going to find out with Derrick Lewis. Is the guy going to get motivated? That’s one thing about our sport you can look like you’re just out of it and forgotten about then next thing you know you can resurge yourself.”
Rothwell hasn’t competed since a unanimous decision defeat to former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos at UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. Dos Santos in 2016.
