With just a few weeks to go until the return of Ronda Rousey at UFC 207, where she challenges Amanda Nunes for the UFC bantamweight championship, the verbal warfare is beginning to heat up.
Nunes vs. Rousey is set to headline UFC 207 which goes down in Las Vegas on December 30th and with the countdown now officially on so are the media appearances from the relatively under the radar Rousey.
Last night she made an appearance on Conan where one of the celebrity owners of the UFC, Conan O’Brien had the opportunity to ask her about Nunes and the challenge of once again becoming the UFC’s 135lbs champion. When asked how she felt about Nunes predicting a first round knockout, Rousey had plenty to say in her rebuttal.
“Yeah, well she kind of has to say that, because everyone knows she gasses out in the second,” Rousey said. “So she has to tell herself that, ‘It’s gonna happen first round.’ What else is she gonna tell herself?”
The appearance on Conan itself is a rarity. Rousey doesn’t conduct many interviews with the indigenous MMA media let alone the mainstream sports media and for her that was a conscious decision heading into her return fight for the UFC.
“I don’t really have to,” Rousey said. “I’ve done a lot of learning in this last year and I’ve learned that the views I get or the money I make really doesn’t mean anything for me or my happiness.
“Now that I know the women’s division is secure, I don’t have to do that anymore. I choose not to. It’s not really something that I get a kick off of. Like, ‘Ooh, I went to spend 12 hours at ESPN and talk sh*t all day.’ That’s not really what I want to do. I want to play World of Warcraft.”
Rousey also reiterated that she is nearing the end of her professional mixed martial arts career but she won’t be calling time on December 30th.
“I don’t think after this fight,” Rousey said of retirement, “but definitely soon.”