Ronda Rousey: ‘I need to take some time to reflect and think about the future’

Not surprisingly (and perhaps understandably), Ronda Rousey didn’t speak to the media after her 48-second loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 on Friday night.

But Rousey broke her silence on Saturday afternoon via a statement that was released to ESPN. Of note, Rousey said that she needs time to think about her future after the loss but thanked fans for being there for her.

The full statement is available below:

“I want to say thank you to all of my fans who have been there for me in not only the greatest moments but in the most difficult ones. Words cannot convey how much your love and support means to me.”

“Returning to not just fighting, but winning, was my entire focus this past year. However, sometimes — even when you prepare and give everything you have and want something so badly — it doesn’t work how you planned. I take pride in seeing how far the women’s division has come in the UFC and commend all the other women who have been part of making this possible, including Amanda.”

“I need to take some time to reflect and think about the future. Thank you for believing in me and understanding.”

Much was made of how little Rousey spoke heading into the night as she spurned most traditional pre-fight media duties, instead making an agreement to only speak to a few favorable mainstream outlets. She didn’t do an interview in the Octagon after the fight either, but Dana White said on the FS1 post-show that she was handling the loss better than she did against Holly Holm.

In what was her first fight since losing to Holm at UFC 193 over a year ago, Rousey was never competitive against Nunes. She took punches with almost zero resistance until the fight was stopped and Nunes had successfully defended her women’s bantamweight championship.