Rogan had made claims in the past that Ronda Rousey could beat half of the male bantamweight competitors and even Floyd Mayweather Jr.
MMA fans can cast their minds back to UFC 193 on November 15 2015. Ronda Rousey walked into the bout against Holly Holm at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia as a dominant bantamweight champion, who had never been beaten in her career. Holm was a significant underdog who was expected to be disposed of in typical Rousey fashion. No prizes awarded for what happened next, but to say Rousey’s capitulation at the hands (and feet) of Holm was not worthy of being touted as the biggest shock in UFC history would be a bare-faced lie.
Prior to suffering a brutal KO against ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’, Rousey’s stock was so high that she was calling out Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a fight. The bantamweight champion was even awarded the title of the “Most Dominant Athlete in the World” in 2015 by Business Insider and was widely considered to be as close to unbeatable as any fighter in combat sports.
The hype was real, and fell from the lips of excited observers across the globe. The judoka’s dominance earned her a celebrity status which paved the way for advertisements, endorsements and movie deals. Less than 18 months later, and Rousey is 0-2 from her last two bouts, and is rumored to be on the verge of retirement following an absolute annihilation against incumbent bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.
Everyone who is anyone has backtracked on their previous comments, of course. None other than UFC commentator Joe Rogan is the latest to have admitted getting carried away with the Rousey hype at its peak. Rogan spoke on the latest edition of The Joe Rogan Experience to confirm that his propensity to exaggerate can sometimes lead him to saying things which he later regrets:
“I’m not happy that Ronda Rousey lost but in a way, it makes things easier because there was a bunch of f**kin’ people going, ‘Oh yeah, what about Ronda Rousey?” And I made the mistake saying – hyperbole. I’m the master of hyperbole, I exaggerate all the time – I was like, ‘She could probably beat half the men bantamweights in the UFC.’
“That’s definitely not true. I shouldn’t have said it at the time, now it’s definitely not true. She could beat a few that aren’t good outside the sport. Look, if she gets guys on the ground she could f**k a lot of people up. Her Judo is 100 percent legit, her armbars are amongst the best in the business but people were always saying that… Thank god now that she’s lost everyone’s relaxed with that.”
Is that fight with Bryan Carraway still an option?
