Ronda Rousey: Holly Holm loss could be 'best thing to ever happen to me'
Ronda Rousey lost her title to Holly Holm in devastating fashion at UFC 193 last November, but the former titleholder says that she's learned a valuable lesson from the defeat and it could potentially be the "best thing that ever happened" to her.
Rousey reflected on what she experienced in the months following the loss while speaking at Reebok's Luncheon for Inspirational Women.
"When it comes to challenges, I honestly believe that things happen for a reason," Rousey said. "At the time yes it's hard on a personal, emotional level and it's hard to look past what's happening to the future, but you have to believe in yourself because down the line in two, five, 10 years' time you'll look back and think that was actually the best thing that ever happened to me."
For Rousey it appears the key component in coming back stronger than ever is self-belief. The former Olympian, however, did not show that confidence in her days after her first professional MMA loss, as she hid her face at the airport and retreated from the limelight for weeks. But even from that experience, Rousey said she grew.
"Every single setback it's not the end of the world, it's just the beginning of that lesson." Rousey said. "That had to happen for me to learn these certain things and it's not about being completely infallible, it's about getting better and there's no room for improvement in perfect."
The loss, indeed, could end up being the best thing to ever happy to Rousey and the UFC women's bantamweight division.
So much has changed within the Women's bantamweight division since Rousey's loss to Holm and even in the six months preceding it.
In August of 2015, Rousey tallied her fourth straight win in under a minute and there were serious questions about the depth of the women's bantamweight division. Rousey had already beaten No. 1 contender Miesha Tate twice and quickly dispatched perennial contender Cat Zingano.
Then came the Holm fight.
Rousey lost and the division appeared wide open again. While Holm's rematch with the once-dominant Rousey seemed inevitable, there were a host of other intriguing matchups promotion could make, including the striker vs. grappler matchup between Holm and Tate.
Tate would go on to defeat Holm at UFC 196 to become the division's third champion in six months.
Now, we enter the spring of 2016 anticipating Rousey's return to take on Tate in a fight not many people wanted to see just a year ago. Holm is still the No. 1 contender, the ever improving Julianna Pena is still waiting in the wings and new contenders, like Valentina Shevchenko and Brazil's Amanda Nunes, have emerged.
Rousey is making her return to the division at the right time, and if she can reclaim her spot at the top of the mountain, while avenging a loss and knocking off a few new faces in the process, she'll define an even greater legacy for herself.
