Gracie: Ronda Rousey ‘thrives in the chaos’
Rener Gracie, jiu-jitsu coach of UFC champion Ronda Rousey, spoke today with the MMA Hour and gave his point of view of what makes Rousey so good.
Rener Gracie, jiu-jitsu coach of UFC champion Ronda Rousey, spoke today with the MMA Hour and gave his point of view of what makes Rousey so good:
“Ronda Rousey’s middle name should be improvisation,” Gracie said of the scene on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “That’s her adaptability. That’s how she trains. When we’re training in the academy here on a regular basis, literally every single day she’s spinning and turning and landing in the craziest ways and catching techniques that are totally improvised — but then, if they’re that predictable and they’re that regularly occurring, are they improvised or are they just part of the tornado?”
Hindsight will always be one of a professional athlete’s greatest enemies, but whether fairly or unfairly, Zingano is destined to forever be questioned for her strategy at UFC 184 — charging headfirst into the lion’s den, closing the distance on a savant of the clinch.
Gracie admitted on Monday that he was caught off guard by Zingano’s gameplan, though neither Rousey nor head coach Edmond Tarverdyan were as surprised. They actually expected it, Gracie said, and in turn, they prepared exactly for that moment.
“As soon as I turned and saw the scramble on the ground, chaos happening, I thought to myself, ‘Oh, Cat’s in big trouble right now,'” Gracie said. “Because Ronda thrives in the chaos. She thrives in the confusion because of her extensive years in judo, and it’s amazing what she’s able to do. When other people would otherwise kinda clam up and just do what’s safe, Ronda’s always literally upside-down and twisting and elegantly looking for prime limbs to latch onto and take home and add to the collection.”