UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey teamed up with her biggest rival’s longtime coach ahead of her fight against Gina Carano.
Ronda Rousey will return to the MMA cage against fellow women’s MMA pioneer, Gina Carano, in a highly anticipated fight next month in Los Angeles. It’ll mark Rousey’s first fight since back-to-back UFC losses to Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm, and Carano’s first fight in almost two full decades.
It’s a massive fight for both parties, as Rousey looks to add another win to her resume and put her late UFC struggles in the rearview mirror. As she enters her first training camp in 10 years, Rousey opted to seek the help of someone she used to loathe.
Rousey and former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate had one of the biggest rivalries in MMA history. Their time coaching against one another on The Ultimate Fighter remains one of the most entertaining pairings in the show’s lore.
Rousey didn’t get along with Tate and her team during the season, although she’s since turned over a new leaf and sought the services of one of Tate’s longtime allies.
Ronda Rousey teams up with Miesha Tate’s longtime coach despite a hostile past
In a recent video on her YouTube channel, Rousey explained why she opted to team up with Tate’s former coach, Ricky Lundell, ahead of the Carano fight.
“We were mortal enemies,” Rousey said.
“Started off as mortal enemies. He was coaching against me on The Ultimate Fighter and he was so nice, I was like this m*********** is so patronizing and fake and I hated his guts. It was like the monkey in the closet from Family Guy. That was me to Ricky all the time.
“This is a common theme, by the way, that he’s so nice that everyone was like ‘this m********* is not for real.’ He’s really just being a passive-aggressive a******, but he’s actually the nicest m***********,” Rousey continued. “Actually, the nicest person you will ever meet. So nice that you don’t think it’s real.” (h/t MMA Fighting)
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