Ronda Rousey cares about winning so much that she says she would rather die than lose.
Rousey, who is the UFC women’s bantamweight champion, made her comments during an interview on “Jim Rome on Showtime,” a show for whom she is a frequent guest.
Rousey said she refuses to tap out during a fight and would rather suffer whatever pain and injuries she’s subjected to rather than quit because she can’t take the pain.
“There have been times during a fight when I thought I was going to die,” Rousey told Rome. “I thought to myself, ‘I would rather break my neck than lose this fight.’
“I will never tap out of a fight because I know the feeling of losing. I know that I would rather die than lose a fight,” she said.
Though many fighters have an anti-tapping policy — it’s a family philosophy for the Gracies — Rousey’s comments still are shocking to many. But Rousey has her reasons.
“Have you ever lost at the Olympics?” Rousey asked Rome rhetorically. “I would rather die than lose. I know that feeling so well. It’s not that I’ve never lost; it’s that I’ve lost at the worst time, so I know what a loss is.
“That’s why I want to win so much more than these other girls. My mom was the world champion in judo. She was the first American to ever do it. I had my shot to be like my mom and win a world championship in judo, and I lost. It feels like dying to me. I’d rather die.”
Rousey’s comments seem stunning on the surface, but if you’ve watched her fight, you know they mirror her mentality. She goes into fights with more focus, determination and a killer mentality than anyone else in the sport. Her fear of losing is probably what motivates her to be great.
