White: Ronda bigger after loss than before
“One hundred million people were talking about it on social media. And I actually think Ronda Rousey is bigger now after the loss than she was before the fight.”
The hardcore MMA fanbase can be brutally fickle. Half the fighters lose every fight. Greats like Randy Couture end up with a record like 19-11. But a single loss can send some fans into a frenzy of typing ITOLDYOUSOISAIDHE/SHE/ITSUCKED.
When Ronda Rousey fell to new UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm, there was a widespread belief that her star had fallen into the sea. However, during a recent appearance on ESPN’s First Take” UFC president Dana White says the loss made Rousey more famous still.
It’s crazy because you win and lose in the fight game; it happens, said White, as transcribed by Mike Bohn for MMAjunkie. It’s funny, because we were comparing her to Tyson, who had this invincibility. She was a Tyson. And it was never more true than when she lost – because when she lost, everybody was shocked. One hundred million people were talking about it on social media. And I actually think Ronda Rousey is bigger now after the loss than she was before the fight.
I think that if we didn’t make (an immediate) rematch, me and Lorenzo Fertitta should probably lose our promoter’s license if we didn’t make that rematch. That fight’s going to happen. I don’t know when, but that fight’s going to happen. Ronda Rousey has gone undefeated, taken the sport to another level and was beating the best women in the world in 14 seconds and 30 seconds. She deserves a rematch, and Holly deserves a rematch, and we’ll figure it out.
You have to give Ronda some time. When Ronda’s ready to come back – there’s literally no pressure on her whatsoever to think about anything as far as fighting goes. And she’s on a medical 45-day suspension after the fight. She can’t have any contact or have anything for 45 days.
And in the meantime, Conor McGregor fights Jose Aldo at UFC 194 on Dec 12, in case you hadn’t hear.