Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey suffered a 48 second TKO loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207, it was a failed attempt to reclaim the title she lost in 2015 to Holly Holm.
Rousey’s biggest rival may be Brazilian star Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino and despite the rivalry, Cyborg’s coach in Jason Parillo, would like to train the former champion.
“They could train together, now. Cris could help Ronda improve,” Parillo said to Sports Illustrated. “I wouldn’t mind seeing Ronda come down and work with Cris a little bit. If you ask me, that fight’s over. That fight was just holding on by a string as it was because, if you ask me, Ronda was never going to agree to that fight. Even if she would have blown this Amanda Nunes away. I mean, maybe it would have given her confidence to take on Cris. But really? No.”
However, Parillo has only one requirement if Rousey were to come down and train with him or Cyborg - she must come with the hunger that made her a champion in the first place.
“If Ronda is a hungry fighter and still wants to prove to be the competitor and athlete that she is, she’s got plenty of time to come back and do that,” Parillo said. “It’s hard to see them ever matching up. They couldn’t get it together before the [Nunes] fight. This just set [Ronda] back a whole lifetime. I’d like to see Cris be the title holder at 145, I’d like to see Ronda do well at 135.”
Ronda has yet to make any kind of decision on where her future lies, but folks like her own mother and even boxing coach Freddie Roach believe she should retire.
