After an absolutely devastating loss in the main event of UFC 207, Ronda Rousey was not seen or heard from after Amanda Nunes was announced the winner of their bout. Perhaps it’s for the best to not have an interview with a fighter that is almost guaranteed to have suffered a concussion. Yet we have one response to the results in the immediate aftermath from her mother, Dr AnnMaria De Mars.
In a blog post that was posted after the fight on her personal blog, De Mars briefly hits on a few points regarding what Ronda has accomplished as well as her drive as a competitor. Yet she also notes why it is that Rousey takes setbacks and losses as strongly as she does:
“All of those who have criticized Ronda for taking a loss so to heart, for not just ‘shrugging it off’ don’t understand that what made Ronda so successful is that she cares DEEPLY about winning to an extent that I don’t believe the average person can wrap his/her head around.
Caring deeply about something and working your hardest to achieve it doesn’t mean you make the right decisions 100% of the time. Wouldn’t it be a nicer world if it did?”
From there she highlights some of her daughter’s Judo accomplishments, as well as in the worlds of MMA and other media such as television, books and film. But more than anything, she also brings up what Rousey hasn’t done, such as getting in any sort of serious legal trouble or failing a drug test. De Mars makes the case that being so driven has led her to many rewards while living in a manner in which she has reached various milestones with little few embarrassments and/or failings (as also noted in the post, all prior to the age of 30).
While it’s very rare to see this sort of response from the parent of a fighter after a situation like this one, it adds some context here in understanding Ronda as an athlete and a person. Most importantly, the fact that she’s still got the love and respect of her mother is very much present here despite their disagreements.
Mightiest Daddy 
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