Now a couple weeks removed from the release of a now-infamous interview with AnnMaria De Mars, the mother of UFC Champion Ronda Rousey, the media finally caught up with Rousey to ask her about it. De Mars made a number of comments blasting Edmond Tarverdyan, her daughter’s coach (both head coach and striking coach), for everything from misogynistic tendencies to being a technically bad coach who’s using Rousey to draw fighters to his gym.
Today, MMAFighting is reporting that Rousey and Tarverdyan were asked about the interview during a UFC 193 media day at said gym, the Glendale Fighting Club. Both were less than forthcoming, with Tarverdyan saying that “It doesn’t matter for me. We have a fight in front of us Nov. 14. That’s all I worry about and I care about at this point. It’s her mom, at the end of the day. And that’s it. I’m a person that’s never spoke negative about anybody’s mom and will never do that. Friendship, anybody. I’ve always said a mom is a mom and that’s it. That’s all I have to say.”
Rousey refused to say if she had spoken to her mother about her comments at all. “I really don’t think that’s anybody’s business. […] Any reaction and response I have for my mother, she’s going to hear from me and not a media outlet,” She did stress that this situation would have no bearing on her training camp or UFC 193 fight against Holly Holm. She did give a very tiny glimpse into her feelings on the matter, though: “That kind of stuff, it just kind of makes me more thankful that I have fighting, because this is the place where I keep my focus and my sanity. Whatever kind of crazy things that are happening outside of fighting, it just makes me want to go inside the gym more, because this is really my escape from all that.”
Rousey also implied this all means that Holly Holm should be scared. “The more chaotic everything is outside, the better I do in fights. The best performances I’ve ever had, I was in the most emotional turmoil beforehand. This is what I do to be able to fix myself.”
