"I'll always be your girl" - Ronda Rousey discloses how promise made to Dana White stopped her from pulling out of Holly Holm fight despite accident
Ronda Rousey has continued to offer greater insight into her historic bout with Holly Holm. The UFC Hall of Famer recently took part in another interview, this time with Chris Cuomo on The Chris Cuomo Project podcast, where she revealed that a promise she had made to UFC CEO Dana White saved UFC 193.
According to Rousey, she was in no condition to take part in the Holm fight, describing a home accident that rendered her ill-equipped to absorb blows to the head. 'Rowdy' stated that this left her at a significant disadvantage heading into UFC 193:
"Right before the Holm fight, it was starting to be, like, not even a significant strike would give me a concussion. Then two weeks beforehand, I slipped down the stairs going to the car to get my scale, knocked myself out on the stairs and tore my knee out again."
Over the past few weeks, Rousey has opened up about her struggles with concussions, reasoning that they impacted her in the final stretch of her career. However, even the accident suffered before her fight with Holm was not enough to dissuade her from fighting.
She said:
"I was already a replacement for Joe Lauzon or, no, it was Robbie Lawler that pulled out of the fight, and I told Dana, I'll always be your girl, I will always fight. When these other guys won't, I will."
Check out Ronda Rousey talk about her promise to Dana White (25:48):
Unfortunately, this all coincided with a disastrous end to her MMA career, which saw her suffer two consecutive losses before retiring from the sport.
Revisiting Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm
Ahead of UFC 193, Holly Holm was a massive underdog, considered little more than a lamb prepared for slaughter, like most of Ronda Rousey's opponents. 'Rowdy,' meanwhile, was regarded as an invincible, all-conquering force of nature inside the octagon, having finished all 12 of her prior foes in stunning fashion.
Yet, the moment the fight started, Rousey seemed like a fish out of water. Holm's lateral movement and footwork were the kryptonite to Rousey's linear charges. And as the champion stormed forward seeking the clinch, Holm stung her with sharp counters before shuffling back into the center of the octagon.
Check out Ronda Rousey's UFC 193 loss:
Even when Rousey pulled Holm into the clinch, 'The Preacher's Daughter' kept her elbows tucked tight to her torso, robbing Rousey of a free arm to execute throws with. After round one, Rousey's mouth was bloodied, and she seemed out of her wits.
In round two, she was knocked out by a head kick in one of the greatest upsets in UFC history.