Dana (left) has already publicly praised the importance of Ronda (right). Photo: Disclosure/ UFC
Dana White, it seems, missed the opportunity to bring Ronda Rousey back on the UFC roster. This Tuesday (17), the American surprised fans by announce your return She was scheduled to return to MMA in a duel against Gina Carano, promoted by Most Valuable Promotions in partnership with Netflix. However, the former champion's initial plan was to return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship octagon, but the organization's president showed no interest in the proposal.
In an interview with ESPN, Ronda Rousey She revealed that she had always considered Carano the only opponent who could force her out of retirement and, as she considered the idea, felt she needed the fight. The former champion also explained that she contacted Dana White to see if the UFC was interested, but negotiations didn't progress, which ultimately paved the way for the fight to be arranged outside the organization.
“I always said that Gina is the only person I would fight again. The more I thought about it, the more I realized: you know what? I need this. I really need this fight. So I contacted Dana and asked if he would be interested in it. It didn't exactly work out with the UFC, but that brought us to where we are today. I was nine months pregnant,” she said. Ronda Rousey.
Ronda Rousey reveals the emotional motivation behind her return to face Gina Carano.
R. Rousey has been retired from MMA since 2016. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook RondaRousey
Second Ronda RouseyThe decision to return to MMA gained momentum after watching a recent interview with Gina Carano, in which her compatriot appeared not to be in her best physical shape. Identifying with her rival's situation, similar to a difficult period she faced in the past, the former champion stated that she saw in the fight an opportunity to help her rediscover a purpose and rekindle her passion for the sport.
“And I saw a video of Gina Carano giving an interview and she didn’t look well. She had gained an unhealthy amount of weight. And my first thought was: my God, what can I do to help? When I was in a similar situation, when I was depressed and had given up on the world and on myself. What I needed was a goal and something to reignite my passion again. This has been planned since I was pregnant, which was over a year ago. I told her that if I had to go there and train her to fight me, I would do it,” continued the former UFC champion.
Rousey added that they both had to work together to overcome a series of obstacles before the fight could be made official. According to the American, the project was kept secret for a long time and now she celebrates the fact that she can finally make the fight public.
“And we made it happen. We had to work together to overcome all the obstacles to get here. It was like a secret for so long. I can’t believe I can finally talk about it,” concluded the American.
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