Ronda Rousey Will Keep Her Date With Marine, On Her Way To The Ball
Ronda Rousey was up bright and early this morning to catch a flight and make her way to tonight’s Marine Corps Ball. Rousey promised to accompany Marine Corps Lance Corporal Jarrod Haschert to the ball earlier this year when he took to the internet pleading with Ronda to be his date.
Last week, Haschert took to social media once again stating that he hadn’t heard from Rousey and that he was hoping Ronda wasn’t planning on bailing on the ball after Rousey admitted to spiraling into a funk following last month’s devastating loss to Holly Holm.
Not to worry Jarrod, TMZ caught up with Ronda as she was heading your way. Rousey, who was looking a little downtrodden, told TMZ she was going to keep her word and that she considered it an “honor” to be invited. Plus, Ronda is hopeful that the event will help pull her out of her depression. Rousey admitted if she didn’t have the ball to look forward to, she’d “probably stay on my couch crying and eating ice cream for like another month if he didn’t ask me to go outside the house, so it’s probably a really good thing.”
Ronda Rousey had been pretty quiet since her shocking loss to Holly Holm on November 14. Most people had expected Rousey to bulldoze through Holm as she had with so many other opponents, so when Ronda was not only knocked out but dominated for the majority of the fight, it left many in the MMA world stunned.
Ronda recently told ESPN Magazine the defeat left her feeling “really f***ing sad,” and she made the conscience decision to turn herself off from the rest of the world for a little bit.
“I’ve turned my phone off. I haven’t looked at it,” Ronda told ESPN Magazine two weeks after the fight, stating she found comfort in talking to her dog Mochi.
The fight with Holm did more than damage Ronda mentally, it damaged Rousey physically. The devastating head kick that took Ronda down also knocked several teeth loose. Rousey says it will be months before she can even eat an apple let alone step into the octagon for her highly anticipated rematch with Holm. UFC President Dana White announced yesterday that the rematch between Holm and Rousey will take place, most likely July 9, 2016, according to the New York Times, a decision which has been criticized by many who feel White’s judgment is clouded by his adoration for Rousey.
Holm’s camp is reportedly frustrated that the new champion will have to wait for Ronda Rousey to heal in order for Holly to get another chance to fight stating that Holm likes to keep busy. They were requesting a match versus veteran MMAer Meisha Tate, a fight Tate has been begging for since Rousey’s dethroning. UFC commentator Joe Rogan even thought the Tate versus Holm fight makes more sense right now, but not necessarily because he thinks Tate is the most formidable opponent for Holm. Rogan’s concern was more that Ronda Rousey enters her next fight completely healthy.
“If Ronda’s going to be out for this long amount of time, why rush her?” Rogan reasoned on his podcast Thursday. “You’re talking about July? We’re in December. Seven months. She just said in an interview that she’s not going to be able to eat an apple for six months. Forget about taking impact. How is that going to happen in July and have her (Rousey) be at her optimum?”
Regardless of when the rematch will take place, Ronda Rousey knows she needs to bounce back and try to retake the belt, saying, “I need to come back. I need to beat this chick.”
And who knows? Maybe spending the evening at the Marine Corps Ball with Lance Corporal Haschert and some true warriors will give Ronda Rousey the inspiration she needs to persevere.
[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]
