Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey: Rousey Calls Loss To Holm The 'Best Thing To Ever Happen' To Her
On November 15th, 2015, former UFC bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey suffered the biggest setback of her five-year professional mixed martial arts career.
Former champion Holly Holm knocked out "Rowdy" in the second round of the main event bout at UFC 193, dealing the latter with her first defeat. Since then, Rousey had predominantly kept herself on the sidelines, and out of the fighting world.
Right after the fight, numerous reports of her possible comeback at UFC 200 this July 9th came afloat, only to be derailed by the delay in filming of the remake of 80's classic "Road House", in which she holds the starring role.
Holm instead opted to face former title contender Miesha Tate at UFC 196 last March 5th, only to be choked unconscious in the fifth round, subsequently dropping the title.
While she did admit to have contemplated suicide after her loss, Rousey seems to have garnered a newfound positive outlook. In a recent report by Yahoo! Sports, the former Olympic judoka spoke about how her loss had affected her as a fighter.
"A setback is not the end of the world, just the beginning of a lesson," Rousey said. "It had to happen for me to learn certain things."
Prior to her loss to Holm, Rousey was being hailed as an unstoppable force in mixed martial arts. After her highlight reel wins over Alexis Davis, Cat Zingano and Bethe Correia, she received a number of accolades, including that of being branded as the "most dominant athlete in the world" by Sports Illustrated.
But after having her 12-fight win streak snap, Rousey says losing is a big part of the development of any fighter.
"It's not about being completely foolproof, it's about evolving, and there is no room for evolution when it is perfect. I believe that things happen for a reason," Rousey said. "Two, five, ten years we will see that this was the best thing that ever happened to me."
