It’s well known that Ronda Rousey has not been doing any media ahead of her UFC return fight against Amanda Nunes this Friday, but one small snippet of a pre-fight interview gives some insight into her mindset heading into the fight.
The 13-second clip released today by TMZSports.com appears to be taken from the interview clips that typically air at the top of the pay-per-view show and during the pre-fight video package. The clip sees Rousey without her hair and makeup done and is very clear of her intentions for UFC 207.
“I don’t care about how this pay-per-view does. I don’t care about how much money I make. I don’t care about interviews. And I don’t care how I look,” Ronda said. “All I care about is winning my belt back on Friday night and that’s it.”
With that bold statement, her silence the rest of the week now speaks volumes. Now she has to follow through on Friday night.
Hiscoe’s Analysis: Ronda Rousey’s choice not to do any media for the show is almost surely going to hurt how it does on pay-per-view, but it appears that she is aware of this fact and what the consequences are of it. Rousey has always been an emotionally charged individual and it appears that hasn’t changed in the last year. Dana White went as far as to call her “psychotically competitive” today. There has been speculation that she isn’t truly invested in fighting anymore and that she already has one foot out the door, hence the lack of interest in promoting the fight, and that still may be true, but if these comments are genuine, she may be more invested than ever.
Rousey used to be one of UFC’s hardest working fighters when it came to promoting her fights so in that sense she has earned the right to lighten her duties for this fight. Dana White said in a media scrum today that this media moratorium will be “one and done” and she will have to fulfill press obligations for future fights. If there are future fights, that is.
WEDNESDAY NOTEBOOK ITEMS…
-Dana White told the press today during his scrum that UFC 207 will be the last broadcast for Mike Goldberg. Rumors are that ESPN’s Jim Rome will be taking Goldberg’s spot in 2017. Goldberg has been calling UFC shows since 1997.
-Fabricio Werdum confirmed reports today that he had asked for $800,000 to take a fight after Cain Velasquez was forced to pull out of their scheduled bout at UFC 207, but he denied that he had been offered and turned down a fight with Alistair Overeem. “I signed to fight [Cain] Velasquez,” he told A.G. Fight. “Why should it be that they can change the fight a week before and I have to accept everything? It is not like that. I don’t need this.”
-Velasquez released a detailed statement on his Facebook page, outlining the course of events that led to him being pulled from the card this week beginning with the interview he gave Brett Okamoto last week that we talked about here where he said he was using cannabidiol oil to manage his pain. This led to a back and forth with the Nevada Athletic Commission ultimately resulting in his removal.
-New Jersey, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, Virginia, Maryland, and South Dakota will not be adopting the new MMA rules that were set to go into effect on Jan. 1 as laid out by the Association of Boxing Commissions according to reporting by Marc Raimondi at MMA Fighting. The major points of contention are the new rules dictating when a fighter is considered grounded and new allowance of heel strikes to the kidneys. Previously, a fighter with his or her fingertips on the mat would be deemed “downed,” thus making kicks or knees to the head illegal. The new rules would make for head strikes to be legal in such instances. Heel strikes to the kidneys have been illegal for some time but were a common tool for Royce Gracie in early UFC fights. Strikes to the kidney are legal in every other circumstance. Texas will be voting on the rule changes in March.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ROUNDUP
-Lando Vannata vs. David Teymur at UFC 209 on March 4 from Las Vegas.
-Derek Campos vs. Derek Anderson and Rebecca Ruth vs. Colleen Schneider for Bellator 170 on Jan. 21 from Inglewood, California.
NOW CHECK OUT YESTERDAY’S UPDATE: TUESDAY NEWS DIGEST 12/27: Josh Barnett flagged by USADA for possible drug test failure, Dana on Lesnar’s future (w/Hiscoe’s Analysis)
(MMATorch’s Daily News Digest features the top story of the day with added analysis, plus smaller tidbits in the News Notes section. Mike Hiscoe, who writes the News Digest Sundays through Thursdays, has a background in film criticism and previously wrote for the DVD Town and Movie Metropolis websites. His passion for Mixed Martial Arts goes back to 2005, but it was in the promotion for UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie that he really got hooked.”This is my house, I build it,” is still among the all-time great UFC promos. You can follow Mike on social media under the tag @mikehiscoe. He now provides his experienced writing and perspective on live MMA events for MMATorch.)
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