Former UFC champ Lesnar weighs in on Rousey’s post-fight depression
Another former Ultimate Fighting Championship phenom offered some words of encouragement for Ronda Rousey on Tuesday night.
During an appearance on ESPN’s “Sportscenter,” WWE star and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar said he can empathize with what Rousey is going through as she continues the process of accepting her first career loss back in November.
Rousey revealed during a Tuesday appearance on ‘Ellen” that she momentarily pondered suicide after being knocked out by Holly Holm in Melbourne, Australia.
Lesnar, a former NCAA national champion wrestler, took the UFC by storm when he recovered from a loss in his organizational debut in 2008 to win two straight fights and capture the heavyweight title later that year.
He said some of the lessons he learned early in his athletic career proved valuable in helping him bounce back from that submission loss to Frank Mir and believes Rousey is capable of doing the same moving forward..
“I’m a big fan of Ronda’s and have been since the beginning. One thing that I learned and she should have learned a long time ago was that you have to learn how to lose before you can actually win. That was one thing my coach taught me when I was at a very young age because I was a bad loser whenever I’d get beat.
“You’ve got to be able to get back on the horse. This life is very precious and very short. One fight isn’t going to make or break her career. She’s just got to get back on the horse again and figure it out and she will.”
He wasn’t done doling out advice to Rousey, a devoted fan of professional wrestling who has often been compared to Lesnar as a fighter for her marketability and physical dominance inside the cage.
Lesnar thinks Rousey, who is working on several film projects and recently hosted “Saturday Night Live,” needs to narrow her focus if she wants to reach the heights she’s capable of as a mixed martial artist.
“When you’re a top athlete, and even people in the movie industry, people that are great at one thing, the work ethic is there. I had no idea I was going to become UFC heavyweight champion of the world, but that was a goal of mine. As I stepped into the Octagon and faced a number of different foes, I knew that I could be. You just work hard at it. If it’s in your heart and your mind and you work at it and want to do it and believe in yourself, things can happen.
“She can do whatever she wants to do. She’s proven that, but I think she’s got a lot on her plate. You can’t be a fighter and be in 10 movies a year. She’s going to have to step back and find out what Ronda wants to do moving forward.”
Rousey is currently one of three cover models appearing on the “Sports Illustrated” swimsuit issue.
She is expected to return to the UFC octagon in late 2016 against the winner of a March 5 title bout between Holm and Miesha Tate.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj
