dailyloe.com – Ronda Rousey called out UFC women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison on Wednesday. She told Harrison to shut the f–k up during a press conference. This happened ahead of Rousey’s upcoming MMA fight against Gina Carano. The event is scheduled for May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
Kayla Harrison had previously criticized the Rousey-Carano fight. She made comments on the Death Row MMA podcast on March 30. Harrison said she did not have anything nice to say about the bout. She questioned the fight’s status as the best female fight of all time.
Harrison specifically noted Gina Carano’s age and long absence. She pointed out Carano has not fought since 2009. Harrison’s final comment on the podcast was to tell Rousey to shut up. These remarks prompted Rousey’s direct response this week.
The May 16 fight marks a major return for both athletes. Gina Carano has not competed in mixed martial arts for 17 years. Ronda Rousey’s last professional MMA fight was in 2016. She retired after consecutive losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes.
Rousey joked about what she missed during her time away from the sport. She said she did not realize how much she missed it until recently. Being on stage and telling people off made her remember. Rousey stated she missed doing that specific part of fighting.
She explained her reasoning for ending her retirement. Rousey said she needed everyone to give up on her fighting again. That allowed her to know she was coming back just for herself. Fighting had become about everybody else, which stole her joy.
Rousey admitted she did not want to be there for her last two fights. She said Gina Carano ignited the fire in her again to want to be there. Now she knows her return is just for her own purposes. This is because everybody else had given up on the idea.
Rousey first revealed her interest in fighting Carano back in 2022. At that time, she said Carano was the only fighter she would consider facing. This statement was what would bring her out of retirement. Now that hypothetical matchup has become a reality.
The fight was officially announced on February 17 of this year. It will headline an event at the new Intuit Dome. Rousey’s press conference comments were captured on video. The specific call-out to Harrison occurs at the 1:10 mark of that footage.[]
Source: Bleacher Report
