Ronda Rousey Chats with the Media Ahead of Gina Carano Showdown

It's like I said, this is the beach that I, I grew up training on and throughout my entire athletic career and the Pauline that came on the, the mat with me to do my first throws like, um, uh.

We competed together as kids, you know , like, you see how hard I throw her?

I love that girl, and, um, yeah, like we met when we were like 1110, like, yeah, 11 and 12 years old, and I had my first ever sleepover with her, you know, and to like be able to, to do this open workout with her is incredible and this whole team that we've formed.

Just for this, and we were like training in secret and we didn't know if it was going to work out and everybody just believed and kept training for all of it to culminate in this moment in front of everybody.

It's like it's like really happening and it's the best, the best way to be able to end it.

It's the ending that.

That it deserves.

Nikisa was here and I asked him about the celebrity that kind of want tickets because the last time you fought in LA they would always cut to the crowd and always be celebrities cheering you on.

He said that the demand was high, but he also said Sean Strickland called him and asked for tickets, and he said he had to ask you for permission to give Sean Strickland tickets.

Would you give Sean Strickland tickets to his wife?

Uh, sure, yeah, yeah, he could go.

I, I, I'm, I'm glad that it has to go through me now.

I feel, I feel very cool about that, but, uh, yeah, sure, come on over.

We can convert anyone.

Hey, Ron, Alfred with Forbes.

You had a very successful pro wrestling career, former World Rumble winner, women's champion.

Is there anything that you use while you were training for pro wrestling that you now use in your MMA training?

In the training, oh, I don't think in the training, but definitely in the preparation for press conferences and, and how I, I organize my thoughts, you know, I learned so much from, from Paul Hayman, and he, uh, he told me to like, no matter what you're saying, always bring it back around to the fight.

You're always trying to sell the fight and always end on the best line.

What's it been like getting to know Gina over these months and what's it like finding someone who you obviously like so much?

Um, I mean, it's been incredible.

She's my, my hero, you know, getting into the sport, and this is what brought us together.

We went from like acquaintances to, I mean, we're trying our best not to be friends and to not communicate.

I desperately wanna hit her up for every press conference, be like, what color are you wearing because I really wanna be able to match, so I have to try and pick colors that'll match anything.

Um, but, um, no, it's incredible because I feel like no matter which way it goes, like I'm totally at peace with it, and, um, it's one of those rare, uh, like fights where I think it's, it's a feel good experience no matter what, you know, you're not like gonna watch it and be like, oh, it's either gonna be a really shitty night or a really bad night and it's like it's gonna be great.

no matter what, and I'm gonna give her every single fucking thing that I have and because we have so much respect for each other, I know we have forgiveness in our hearts for each other and I, I will be the first one to pop her elbow back in and drive her to the hospital and get her flowers and I hope that she would be the first person to, you know, help me off off the mat if I ended up going down myself.

I think a lot of us were when you first fought in Anaheim 13 years ago, um, when you look back at that version of yourself, what, um, would you say is one thing, uh favorite about yourself, about, uh, when you fought 10 years, 13 years ago?

What was my favorite thing about myself 13 years ago?

That version of yourself.

Oh God, all of the collagen that I had in my body.

That was it.

And, and, and, um, if you keep promoting women's MMA, what's the first thing that you wanna change in, in the sport, especially in women's MMA?

In women's MMA, I mean, I feel like it's not just about men or women anymore.

I think it's about giving fighters their power back and giving them, you know, reminding people that we are what the sport is about.

It's not, it's not a brand.

It's not a belt, it's the fighters themselves, and I, I want them to be able to, you know, reap the rewards of their labor and not just, you know, try and fight over pieces of it.

Over here has Nate shown any more dummies with you since that first press conference?

No, I have.

I'm completely, you know, I'm in serious fight camp mode, which is different than his serious fight camp mode.

But no, I, I made sure to stay clear and remember that I had a scrum after this this time.

Rhonda, you said, you said that this is the biggest MMA fight of all time, not just the biggest women's MBA fight of all time, but the biggest MMA fight of all time.

Obviously it's gonna be on Netflix.

It's never been a platform for MMA like this before .

What does that mean?

Uh, what does that success look like to you in terms of viewership and numbers when this is all said and done?

In numbers, I just wanna be able to beat the numbers for the most viewed MMA fight of all time.

What's the numbers for that?

The US, about 9, about 9 million.

So beating 9 million will be a success to me.

Blowing it out of the park will make me very happy.

But that that's all that I really want to get out of this.

I just want to be able to convince MVP and Netflix that there, there is something here and it is worth the investment, and this is going to be like this is going to be huge, and that that they should, you know, stay in the MMA game and not just dabble in it this one time.

In a way, Rhonda, does that kind of feel familiar, right, because when you first got to the UFC, you were almost having to campaign for like people.

Women's MMA is worth watching, and now here you are again campaigning saying like, hey, there's something.

it doesn't have to just be the UFC Netflix as well.

Does it feel familiar to you that you're selling?

I mean, yeah, I have experience in this field, so I feel like I'm the best person for the job, and you know, this is, I guess, is my, my audition to be like, hey, you should have me around to do this a whole lot more often.

So hopefully this is a huge success and this isn't the last time I'll be able to, you know, try and push the envelope.

What's going on?

Hey, yo, so, um, I asked you the same question, of course, you need to be a fighter as well.

Is this fight gonna be more of Like a mental battle, you know, for both of you guys, you know what I mean, like walking into that fight on Saturday night, uh, you know, of course, you guys are see what's happening, but Uh, you know, when it's time to go back in front of those lights, this is gonna be more mental battle for you guys.

Make sure you guys prepared to stand out there in front of those people who are there to put out your mental.

I think that's the most difficult part of it, you know, is the uncertainty of the outcome, and um that's something I noticed in pro wrestling, you know , a lot of people will be like, oh this is, this is so real, this is so tough, we actually get hit with chairs and I'm like getting hit is not the hardest part that's not what keeps you up at night, that's not what makes your heart race that's not what um that uh.

weighs the most on your soul is the uncertainty of the outcome.

And so, but it's, it's also what makes it so incredible when you're able to pull it off and to get through it and prove to yourself that you know you can face something that is difficult and do it anyway, and that translates to everything else for the rest of your life.

Two more guys.

Rhonda, right here, this is your, your first time fighting as a parent, as a mother.

Does anything feel different in that respect now that you're going through this?

Uh, my perspective has entirely changed and that like it used to be that, you know, winning was the end of the world and it was the only thing that matters and now it's like at the.

At the end of the day my children are what what matters, my family more than anything else, and I want to show them how, how to win and how to be able to face things that are difficult and push through it and do it anyway because my mom being the first American world champion in judo, that's what taught me that that I could, I could be the first to do something.

I could be the best at something and so it's, I feel like I have more motivation than ever because I'm fighting not just for me but for them as well.