MMA News: Ronda Rousey Faces ‘A New Reality’ According To Cris Cyborg
Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey has seemingly turned her back on her MMA career. Rousey has signed a full-time contract with WWE wrestling and made her first appearance at last weekend’s WWE Royal Rumble. As reported by the Inquisitr earlier this week, Rousey says that WWE wrestling “is her life now,” and her longtime UFC rival, Cris Cyborg, warns Rousey that she now faces a “completely different” sort of reality.
Few would argue with Cyborg’s assessment of Rousey’s new direction. The move from combat sport to sports entertainment will require a huge mental shift for Rousey. As Cyborg pointed out to MMA Fighting, Rousey’s new reality includes the fact that WWE wrestling results are pre-determined.
“I believe that she will be happy in WWE, and it’s completely different from the reality of MMA, for an example, wins and losses are decided before the shows.”
Most people would agree that Ronda Rousey is entering a new reality. After all, in MMA and most combat sports, winning is what really matters. In WWE wrestling performers must stick to the script, the storyline feuds must be adhered to, wins and losses are used to build the hype for the next WWE PPV event.
Admittedly, UFC matches receive their fair share of hype, but in WWE a competitors skill on the microphone is almost as important as their skill in the squared-circle. This is Ronda Rousey’s new reality, though some would argue that her reality changed forever when she fought Holly Holm at UFC 193 way back in November 2015. The previously undefeated Rousey was battered to defeat by Holm less than a minute into the second round.
As reported by Yahoo! Sports, Rousey was absent from the Octagon for over 12-months after her defeat to Holm, and her return at UFC 207 was a very brief one. Rousey’s fight against Amanda Nunes lasted just 48-seconds. Rousey was allowed to skip all of the pre-match buildups for that fight, and it was rumored that her confidence had been shattered by Holly Holm. Rousey looked beaten before she even entered the ring against Nunes.
It is worth noting that Rousey hasn’t actually stated that her UFC career is over. However, her comments that the WWE “is her life now,” indicate that Rousey and the UFC have parted company for good. A fit, determined, and hungry Ronda Rousey would be a huge loss for the UFC, but given that Rousey can’t even bring herself to talk about her defeats to Holm and Nunes, you have to believe that Rousey’s aura of invincibility has been shattered. Time will tell if Rousey’s loss to UFC proves to be the WWE’s gain.
