Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnarknows a great deal about the challenges of moving between the worlds of entertainment and combat sports. Maybe more than anyone. Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey does too, and for the moment, it ended with a devastating loss to new champ Holly Holm. In a recent interview, Rousey said the loss led her to momentarily feel suicidal, which led to Lesnar offering some wise words. Seriously.

“I’m a big fan of Ronda’s and have been since the beginning,” said Lesnar to ESPN, as transcribed by David St. Martin for MMAFighting.com. “I think one thing that I learned, and that she should have learned a long time ago, is that you have to learn how to lose before you can actually win. That was one thing that my coach taught me at a very young age because I was a bad loser. You’ve got to be able to get back on the horse.

“This life is very precious and very short and 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.”

Rousey has often talked about potentially working in pro wrestling, but Lesnar offered some wise advice.

“She can do whatever she wants to do,” he said. “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.”

Lesnar is of course 100% correct. And he has made it through his share of painful, even brutal losses. Lesnar lost his second fight ever, to Frank Mir. He came back, and two fights later, he was the UFC heavyweight champion. In his first defense, he defeated Mir in a rematch.

Then he was hospitalized for weeks. Then a year later, he faced Interim champion Shane Carwin. Lesnar won that, winning Submission of the Night, and tying the record for most consecutive UFC Heavyweight Championship defenses.

Then he lost to Cain Velasquez. This is that he looked like in the locker room afterwards.

Then he came back again, losing to Alistair Overeem. The WWE made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, and he has remained there til this day.

But Brock Lensar knows about losing. He lost five times in wrestling on college (and won 106). He lost in high school. He lost in other sports. There is in fact no way to compete in combat sports or life and not lose.

And that’s as real as it gets.