The year 2015 didn’t end well for former women’s bantamweight MMA champion, Ronda Rousey.
After having years of undisputed record, Rousey faced a devastating loss against pro-boxing champion, Holly Holm, during the second round of UFC 193 last November. Holm threw a powerful headkick knocking Rousey out and ultimately ended the fight.
Rousey didn’t say much about the loss after that, but she did break her silence when she agreed to an interview with ESPN. Rousey revealed that despite everyone saying that she needs a new coach, she said that she chooses to stay and still work with her longtime coach, Edmond Tarverdyan.
In a recent interview with Bloody Elbow, Joe Rogan, who also happens to be Ronda Rousey’s friend, said that going against Holm revealed Rousey’s weakness; and if Rousey wants to win on the MMA rematch, she has to step up and agree to make major changes in her game plan.
“Ronda’s got to go to a camp that has the full arsenal. She’s got to go to a Firas Zahabi or a Matt Hume, or someone like that, in my opinion. If I was talking to her, that’s what I would tell her. I’d say, ‘You can’t just train with a judo coach and Edmond holds the pads for you.’ Edmond has definitely done some great things for her boxing technique, that can’t be denied. Her combinations when she hits the pads are very impressive, but there are other elements that come with striking. It’s not just about throwing your hands and having the technique look good,” Rogan said.
Rogan made it clear that even though Rousey did very well in boxing, he believes that Rousey would do far better if she works with someone who has a ‘proven track record as a coach’.
“I think she needs someone who will objectively assess her game as an outsider, not someone like Edmond, who trained her from the beginning with mitts; she needs someone else, as well. She needs someone who is going to be able to look at the big picture of her overall MMA game, and then rebuild. She’s gonna need a massive overhaul. When we talk about MMA being high level problem solving, Holly Holm solved the problem. She had all the answers and she got a f***ing A+,” Rogan said.
With the long list of commitments that Rousey has as of the moment, Rogan thinks that the former MMA bantamweight champ needs to reevaluate her priorities if she wants to get her belt again.
“The other advice to Ronda Rousey is you’ve got to figure out what you want to do. Do you want to be a gigantic celebrity or do you want to be the best fighter on the planet? Because if you want to be the best fighter on the planet, you have to pursue that only. I think with this movie bullshit, she could pull it off with some of the girls with all these distractions and all this nonsense, but I don’t think they allow her the amount of resources–mental, physical, everything…all of the above– that she’s going to need at her disposal to be the very best that she can be. You don’t want to be good enough, you want to be the best that you can be. I don’t think she was the best that she could be. In my eyes, she was not properly prepared for that fight, whether physically or technically,” Rogan added.