Ronda Rousey's mother defends daughter after shocking UFC 207 loss
In her first fight since a stunning loss to Holly Holm in November 2015, the previously indestructible Ronda Rousey lost again on Friday night, this time getting knocked out by bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes in the main event of UFC 207.
Rousey showed no signs of improvement in the bout, which lasted just 48 seconds. Speculation has immediately turned to her potential retirement, though she has remained silent since the fight as she did in the wake of her defeat at UFC 193.
Rousey's mother, Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, has commented on the loss in a post on her personal blog.
MORE: Ronda Rousey career timeline
"Like every mother and daughter on the face of the earth, Ronda and I don't always see eye to eye. However, there is one situation where I am pretty certain," De Mars wrote. "All of those who have criticized Ronda for taking a loss so to heart, for not just 'shrugging it off' don't understand that what made Ronda so successful is that she cares DEEPLY about winning to an extent that I don't believe the average person can wrap his/her head around.
"Caring deeply about something and working your hardest to achieve it doesn't mean you make the right decisions 100% of the time. Wouldn't it be a nicer world if it did?"
De Mars then directed her attention to those who criticized Rousey leading up to her return, both for how she handled her loss to Holm and in how she handled the media—with stern condemnation—in advance of Friday's fight.
"Those of you who want to criticize Ronda, I just want to point out a few things," wrote her mother. "First of all, I know her better than you and she is a smart, kind, talented, generous, hard-working person. Second, I'd like to list some of her accomplishments, and note that she isn't yet 30 years old."
Ronda Rousey fades again as Amanda Nunes reigns supreme at UFC 207
Among those accomplishments De Mars listed is that her daughter was the first women's champion in the UFC and the first woman to earn a million dollars in martial arts.
"That's just a partial list, but let me suggest that someone who has been world level athlete in two sports, written a best seller, acted in movies and made millions of dollars, all before the age of 30 has a pretty darn good track record," De Mars wrote. "On top of that, Ronda has been part of the USADA drug testing since she was 16 years old, never failed a drug test, always paid her taxes, never been arrested, never been to rehab, has zero divorces, zero DUIs and zero children. While you might think that is to be expected, look how many celebrities (heck, look how many of your neighbors) can say that.
"I am very proud of my daughter. As my other wonderful daughter, Maria, told her: 'We love you just as much 10 minutes after every fight as we did in the 10 minutes before.'"
