Ronda Rousey: WWE star defends UFC legend against strong criticism

WWE Superstar Shayna Baszler has come to the defence of Ronda Rousey and those who choose to criticise the achievements of the SmackDown Women’s Champion. 

Ronda Rousey has enjoyed success in a number of combat fields, starting with his Olympic bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Following that success, she has become a trailblazer in women’s sports and an MMA icon. 

The 35-year-old became the first-ever women’s UFC star, and upon winning the Women’s Bantamweight Championship went on an undefeated streak of twelve wins and headlined major pay-per-view events.

However, following her defeat to Holly Holm in November 2015 and her subsequent comeback loss to Amanda Nunes a year later, the UFC Hall of Famer still has her detractors. Criticising her legacy in MMA and her move to WWE. 

One woman who has spoken out against those who throw shade at Rousey, is current WWE Superstar and long-time friend Shayna Baszler. Speaking on Ryan Satin’s Out of Character podcast, the fellow Four Horsewomen admitted that the criticism of Ronda is something that really bothers her. 

“Here’s the thing, I know Ronda enough to know that she does not spend her time on social media. Anytime she comments is because someone has said, ‘Hey, Ronda, you should comment on this,’ which isn’t often because she’ll still be like, ‘Why? Who cares?’ I get frustrated when it’s a little more selfish than that, I get frustrated if I ever were to speak out. If someone were to say something like, ‘Name the top three women’s fighters of all time.’ If I put Ronda in that list, immediately, they’re like, ‘Nope, she got exposed.’”

“Even now, it’s bothering me in a hypothetical. Just because she lost and you didn’t like her personality, you’re