Ronda Rousey spoke to ESPN about her impressive WWE debut at WrestleMania last night. Below are a couple of highlights:
Her two losses in the UFC:
“It was me versus the world in an individual sport. I thought I would never say this, but I’m so happy I lost those fights [to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes] because it led me here. This is so worth it.
“Everything really does happen for a reason. I’m just so grateful. I thought I never would be [grateful] for [the losses], but time is a great teacher. I’m just really, really glad I gave it time instead of giving up and feeling it was the end of the world. There’s so many people who encounter tragedies who feel like the world and time won’t heal it. But all I can say to those people is: Just give it time, even if you think time can’t heal it. You never know what will happen and where it will lead you. Every missed opportunity is a blessing in disguise. I really believe it now.”
Owing WWE fans an apology:
“I owe the WWE universe an apology, because I thought they were going to boo me out of the building from day one. They really accepted me from day one. Hopefully, I satisfied a lot of skeptics tonight. I underestimated how kind the WWE universe would be. I thought any outsiders would be shunned. I was expecting to get shunned and to have to battle to be accepted. I worked my ass off to pay respect to what’s so important to them, and hopefully they saw that tonight. I’m just so grateful, man. I’m trying my best to deserve it.”
Rousey also discussed still supporting UFC fighters, how she celebrated after WrestleMania, WWE feeling familiar to her and more. You can read the full interview by clicking here.
