Daniel Cormier has offered his insights regarding the recent criticism directed towards former UFC bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey.
Widely regarded as the woman who paved the way for other women in mixed martial arts, Rousey’s legendary MMA career is defined by record-breaking victories inside the cage as well as global stardom. However, her defeats to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes have raised questions about her standing as the greatest of all time.
The ‘Rowdy’ one suffered back-to-back knockout defeats at the hands of Holm and Nunes, before retiring from the sport for good. Recently, the MMA legend revealed that her decision to leave the UFC was influenced by severe concussions she suffered during her time inside the Octagon.
The revelation sparked varied reactions from fans, which are mostly negative. However, Cormier believes she might be telling the truth.
“Only Ronda knows about the concussions,” Cormier told MMA Junkie. “If she (was) having these types of concussions, the only mistake she made, to me, is by saying it later. Because nobody knows if she had concussions, but I will also say this in defending Ronda: She’s always been one that people want to critique, even if it was unjust. So when she lost to Holly, it was almost like the world celebrated. They felt like everything got given to her when, in reality, she was winning those fights. She was beating people. And then for her to come back and lose to Amanda (Nunes at UFC 207)) the way she did, everybody celebrated and said ‘to hell with Ronda, go and be gone.’ So now when she comes back and says, ‘Well, I’ve had these issues over my life,’ I don’t know how she couldn’t.
“I understand how difficult it is to do this sport as she did Olympic level – the throwing, everything in the room. It’s hard, man. I couldn’t even count how many concussions I’ve probably had in my life. Ultimately only she knows. I don’t disagree with her as much as most might because all she’s doing is telling her truth.”
What do you make of these comments?
