UFC: Rousey breaks silence: ‘I did a whole lot of crying’

LOS ANGELES— Ronda Rousey broke down in tears Wednesday night as she spoke out for the first time about the painful aftermath of the two stunning defeats that prompted the end of her Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) career.

Rousey has remained silent on the shocking upset to Holly Holm in 2015 that broke her unbeaten record in mixed martial arts, and the crushing beat down she suffered against Amanda Nunes a year later.

However, during a public question and answer session hosted by Hollywood director Peter Berg at the Wild Card West boxing gym, Rousey revealed just how deeply the loss of her reputation as the biggest star in the UFC had hurt.

“I did a whole lot of crying, isolating myself, (husband Travis Browne) held me and let me cry and it lasted two years,” Rousey said.

“I couldn’t have done it alone. There’s a lot of things you have to remember. Every missed opportunity is a blessing in disguise.

There was widespread criticism of Rousey who, after seeking global media attention on her rise to prominence, shut herself away as soon as she was no longer bantamweight champion, prompting accusations of being a sore loser.

On Wednesday, she accepted that was indeed the case.

“My parents expected me to be special, so I expected to be special,” Rousey said. “I was just trying to create the job I wanted, and I wouldn’t have the audacity to do that if my mom didn’t tell me I could.

“But one thing my mother never taught me was how to lose. She never wanted me to entertain it as a possibility. She’d say: ‘Let it suck. It deserves to suck.’”