Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey has never been one to hold back her opinions, and her recent appearance on the Bertcast podcast proved exactly that. During the conversation, Rousey delivered one of her most controversial takes yet about MMA fans and their treatment of retired fighters.
During her discussion with comedian Bert Kreischer, Rousey addressed what she sees as a toxic pattern in MMA culture: the way fans immediately turn on champions the moment they lose.
She ran through a list of legendary fighters who experienced this phenomenon, from Chuck Liddell to Anderson Silva, noting how each was celebrated as the greatest of all time until their first significant loss.
“MMA fans and media are the most what have you done for us lately crowd of any sport,” Rousey explained. She contrasted this with WWE, where legends maintain reverence regardless of how their careers end. “At MMA it’s like the second that you’re not on top, you’re not s**t and you never were s**t.”
Then came the bombshell statement about undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who retired in 2020 with a perfect 29-0 record. “I think the only reason that why MMA fans have their lips so firmly planted at the base of Khabib’s c*ck is because he retired before he reached his limit,” Rousey said bluntly.
“And if he ever if he kept fighting until he reached his limit everybody would be like oh Khabib ain’t s*it he never was s*it, and they’re like that with everybody.”
This observation stems from Rousey’s own experience in the sport. She admitted that early in her career, she desperately wanted to retire undefeated because “I was so afraid of like, oh, everything that I accomplish is going to be nothing if I ever lose.”
It wasn’t until her transition to WWE that she gained a different perspective on legacy, learning that passing the torch to the next generation was more important than protecting an unblemished record.
Rousey also took aim at keyboard warriors who criticize fighters despite never having competed themselves. “If I had a quarter for every guy that has never been in a fight that I could kill with my bare hands talking s*it about my ability to fight, I would make Elon Musk blush,” she quipped.
She recently sparked controversy by declaring herself “the greatest ever,” a statement she stands by based on dominance and being ahead of her time, regardless of how her career ended.
The former bantamweight champion believes this fan behavior discourages fighters from staying in the sport long enough to build new stars. “I think it encourages people to try and get out while they’re peaking and leaving and taking all of that equity with them instead of passing it on to whoever’s next to take up the mantle,” she explained.
Now nine months postpartum and training MMA again for fun and fitness, Rousey appears content with her legacy and her current life on a sustainable farm in Hawaii with husband Travis Browne and their children. While she jokingly said she’d return to the octagon for a billion dollars, it’s clear her combat days are behind her.
