Reluctant Tarverdyan offers first comments after Rousey loss

Sports fans love lists. A top five list of the most hated things in MMA right now might include:
5. Injuries
4. Weight cutting
3. Concussions
2. MRSA
1. Ronda Rousey’s coach Edmond Tarverdyan

The owner/not owner of Glendale Fight Club is universally cited as a factor in Ronda Rousey’s failure to unseat new women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Among the most severe critics of Tarverdyan is Rousey’s mother. Dr. AnnMaria De Mars is the first American to win a world championship in Judo, and wished the coach were dead, by her own hand if such a thing could happen legally.

I hope he loses his license or goes to jail because either of those is a possibility,” said Dr. De Mars earlier this year. “I think if she changes gyms she has an outstanding chance of winning. If she doesn’t? As a statistician, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. If you do the same things with the same people you can expect the same results.

Rousey did the same things with the same people and got the same results.

The coach has laid low, but a TMZ stringer caught up with him as he was pulling away in his vehicle. Clearly uneager to speak, Tarverdyan never the less offered a few remarks, beginning with his thoughts on Rousey’s potential retirement.

It’s all good, man, no plans made yet, said the coach.

Then he was asked what he had to say to people who say he wasn’t the right coach.

“It doesn’t matter what people say,” said Tarverdyan.

While the coach was terse, his hands were speaking volumes. He offered in succession a wave, a peace sign, a shaka, and a thumb and forefinger perfect sign. Then his hands went to the steering wheel and he drove off.

It was a nice car, too.

Before the fight, Rousey spoke about winding her MMA career down. Unfortunately, mixed martial arts not a sport that lends itself to graceful, gradual disengagement. History shows endlessly that if you are not 100% in, it’s safest to be out.