

Ronda Rousey is a UFC Hall of Famer. In her brief career, the women’s pioneer saw the top of the mountain and a downward slide as well. During her downfall, fans gave her a hard time, but fellow sporting legends like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant came forward to support ‘Rowdy‘. Chiefly, after her second straight UFC loss at UFC 207 against Amanda Nunes.
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It was her second straight loss in the championship bout and eventually became Rousey’s last loss in the UFC. Thus, she received a lot of heat for it.
At the time, NBA great, Kobe Bryant wrote words of encouragement for the ex-UFC bantamweight champion on his Twitter handle.
“Instead of clapping for @RondaRousey defeat give her a standing O for putting the sport on the map #pioneer #muse.”
Instead of clapping for @RondaRousey defeat give her a standing O for putting the sport on the map #pioneer #muse
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) December 31, 2016
Not only Kobe Bryant, but LeBron James also appreciated Rousey’s hard work and related her story to his own.
‘King James‘ said, “In sports, in general, they build you up as high as they can… just to tear you down. That’s coming from somebody who has experienced it.”
‘The Akron Hammer‘ sympathized with Rousey and concluded, “I know exactly how she feels because I was that athlete. I went through that.”
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Even LeBron James had faced similar criticism for his initial move to Miami from Cleveland in 2010.
LeBron James and Kobe Bryant were right about Ronda Rousey
The former Strikeforce bantamweight women’s world champion ‘Rowdy‘ came into the UFC as a champion. Before her two back-to-back knockout losses, she defended her title 6-time in a record time. Most of her wins didn’t go past the first minute, let alone the first round of the bout.
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Eventually, Rousey suffered her first loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Australia. Afterward, she didn’t face the media, and it appeared she would never return to the Octagon. But she showed she wanted to regain her belt, hence she fought Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. But she came short in her attempt.
‘The Lioness‘, who was relatively lesser-known when she beat Rousey, became women’s GOAT by beating all the UFC champions at 135 and 145 lbs who ever held a belt before her. Thus, it shows that ‘Rowdy’ was up against a better athlete at UFC 207. Yet, she faced over-the-top criticism.
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What do you make of these NBA athletes’ comments about Ronda Rousey? Share your opinions in the comments below.
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