By now we know that Ronda Rousey did not respond well after she was knocked out by Holly Holm, but the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion’s sister recently shed some more light on just how crushing the defeat was for Rousey.
In an article for Vice that discusses the scrutiny Rousey has faced both before and in the wake of her loss to Holm, Maria Burns Ortiz says a part of her sister “died” at UFC 193.
“I haven’t rewatched (the fight),” Ortiz wrote. “I haven’t read about it. I won’t. I don’t see a point in reliving the moment when a part of my loved one died, when I saw someone I cared about have her soul crushed.”
It’s no secret Rousey has been in rough shape both physically and emotionally over the past month or so. When you see the beating Holm put on her (video here), you can understand why Rousey covered her face while walking through an airport to hide her injuries.
But it was the verbal attack from strangers that bothered Ortiz more than the physical beating Rousey took.
“I saw how horrible people can be to someone they don’t even know, which made me even more appreciative when I saw how wonderfully Ronda’s friends and family treated her,” Ortiz said. “Those are the people that matter.
“When some people reflect on Ronda and 2015, they will see it defined by a single event. They see it as the end. And in some ways, they’re right—but that only means we’re at a new beginning.”
Rousey and Holm are going to fight again, likely at UFC 200. If Holm beats her a second time, Rousey has already indicated that it will be the last we see of her in the Octagon.
H/T Bloody Elbow
