SHE may be 12-0 in her MMA career, but Ronda Rousey’s rap sheet has not always been so perfect.
Now arguably the biggest name in the UFC, Rousey’s combat roots in Judo still act as a painful reminder of defeat. And according to former Olympic judo athlete Edith Bosch, it is those experiences which hold the key for anyone looking to defeat the 28-year-old.
Bosch was the last person to beat Rousey in a competitive fight, having defeated her during the quarterfinal stages of the 2008 Beijing Games — a result which dashed the gold medal hopes of the former junior world judo champion.
Speaking with MMA junkie, Bosch revealed the secret behind getting inside the mind of one of the most ruthless women on the planet: be even more ruthless.
“My attitude and my mindset was, ‘You are in my way, I am going to kill you, because I want to get a medal’,” Bosch said, via USA Today’s Martin Rogers.
Bosch suggested Rousey’s outlandish attitude did not bode well among the traditional scene of the sport.
“Everything starts with the weigh-in,” Bosch said.
“Everybody is always silent and quiet because a lot of people have to lose weight. When she got into the weigh-in room she was … talking loud and all busy, and wearing pyjamas. I always looked at her and I wondered, ‘Okay, for her (the fight) already starts here.’
“On the mat she is a bitch. But you have to be. I was too. We didn’t talk.”
With judo offering two bronze medals per weight class at the Olympics, both Bosch and Rousey took the third place finishers at Beijing. Bosch however went on to participate in the 2012 London Games, where she again took home a bronze medal, while Rousey was announced as the first female fighter to sign with the UFC just months later.
The 35-year-old retired judoka expressed some curiosity in MMA, but said her mind would have been focussed on one thing if she had ever joined Rousey in the mixed martial form.
“I thought about it a couple of times. Of course you are wondering what would happen if I picked up MMA as well and we were in a cage and really got it on... I would really love to punch her, though.”
Rousey takes on accomplished boxer and former WBF female world welterweight champion Holly Holm as the main event bout in UFC 193 at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The pair will contest the women’s bantamweight championship, currently held by Rousey.
Despite both fighters holding undefeated records leading into the fight, Rousey has the edge as the undisputed favourite, currently holding odds of just $1.06 to win.
According to sportsbet.com.au, Holm’s chances of winning have her paying an incredible $9.30 for victory.
And while an upset seems unlikely considering Rousey’s last five fights went for just 188 seconds combined, Holm will still favour herself to become the first woman to beat the bantamweight champion since Edith Bosch at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
No comments:
Post a Comment