Rousey: People are offended by a champion mindset

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey appeared Wednesday on ESPN’s First Take, and was asked if Laila Ali or Cris Cyborg were in her future.

“I hope so,” said Rousey. “It would be an honor to fight Laila She’s an amazing fighter. I know she’s retired and she’s really moved on with her life, but if she wants to come back and try something, I would love to.

“With Cyborg I would love to fight her. But 24 hours after they announced out of competition drug testing in the UFC, she asked to be released. I can’t do anything about that, she’s the one that left. She’s the one that needs to get off the drugs and make the weight. And I can’t do anything about that. I’m the champ, I have the belt, she knows where I’m at.

“Someone that takes performance enhancing drugs is the type of person that lacks belief. And needs to have advantages that they don’t deserve, in order to have the confidence to get in there. Before, she would use drugs to get that confidence. Now she’s trying to get a weight advantage so she has that confidence.

“So you know what? Just change your lifestyle, make weight, like everybody else does – we’re not going to make exceptions for a fraud and a cheater – and come in and fight.”

Rousey was then asked if she would box with Laila.

“I wish I could box,” said Rousey. “It’s such a beautiful sport that I have come to appreciate, since I started doing MMA. In my time off, I don’t even grapple at all. In between fights, all I do is box. It’s my favorite thing now.

“But I’m very much married to the UFC at the moment. I would love to have the opportunity to have a boxing match. I would love to (box Laila) but I really don’t think it’s possible for me. Maybe someday I would be able to have a world title boxing match, but it doesn’t seem to be in the cards at all at the moment.”

“The vast majority of the time (I am working on boxing). I haven’t put on a gi on and done Judo in five or six years. All I’ve been doing is mostly striking. When I’m in training camp of course I try to balance everything out.

“I’m not offended by why Laila said. People are so offended by the mindset of what it takes to be the best in the world. Of course she thinks she can beat me. She wouldn’t be the legend that she is if she didn’t think that about herself. And I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if I didn’t think I was capable of doing such things. I think I’m capable of doing anything I set my mind to. And if that offends you then you should think better of yourself.”

However, Rousey made it clear that boxing is not happening any time soon.

“I’m a UFC fighter,” said Rousey. “I just renegotiated. I have a lot of fights that I have in the UFC, before I would be able to go do anything else.”

She added that she hopes there is a chance to box down the line.

“I think that would be amazing,” she said. “I’m not even saying specifically [Laia]. She’s retired and has kids and has moved on with her life. I would think maybe someone closer to my weight that has a world title belt … I would love to try it, but I have a lot going on. I have fights. I have two movies coming out. I have a book coming out. My schedule is a little full at the moment.”

Rousey also discussed her 14 second finish of Cat Zingano.

“In that 14 seconds, no one had ever done that throw reversal in the history of the sport, and no one had ever done that particular armbar in the history of the sport,” said Rousey. “And I never even practiced that before. I did it on the moment. I made it up off the top of my head.”

Bethe Correia fought well and talked well fights Rousey on Aug. 1 at UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“Keep knocking on the devil’s door long enough, and someone’s going to answer,” warned Rousey.