Ronda Rousey made her in-ring debut last night during WrestleMania 34 in a wildly entertaining match up.
Now that her first outing is being deemed as a success, she is openly talking about her MMA losses for the first time in an interview with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
Many of her detractors were turned off by her inability to be humbled by her defeat to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. There’s still a sense that she left the sport as a sore loser and without saying goodbye.
But Rousey is hopeful by how accepting wrestling fans have been and she now sees her defeats as something to grow from positively.
“It was me versus the world in an individual sport,” Rousey said. “I thought I would never say this, but I’m so happy I lost those fights [to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes] because it led me here. This is so worth it.”
“Everything really does happen for a reason. I’m just so grateful. I thought I never would be [grateful] for [the losses], but time is a great teacher. I’m just really, really glad I gave it time instead of giving up and feeling it was the end of the world. There’s so many people who encounter tragedies who feel like the world and time won’t heal it. But all I can say to those people is: Just give it time, even if you think time can’t heal it. You never know what will happen and where it will lead you. Every missed opportunity is a blessing in disguise. I really believe it now.”
Rousey says she will continue to work hard for her position.
“I underestimated how kind the WWE universe would be. I thought any outsiders would be shunned. I was expecting to get shunned and to have to battle to be accepted. I worked my ass off to pay respect to what’s so important to them, and hopefully they saw that tonight. I’m just so grateful, man. I’m trying my best to deserve it.”
Read ESPN’s full interview here.
What do you think of this interview? Are you hopeful Ronda may be turning a new leaf? Sound off in the comments below.
