During a recent interview with VICE, Ronda Rousey‘s sister spoke about her sister’s loss to Holly Holm for the UFC Bantamweight Championship at UFC 193.
She says the loss may have defined her 2015, but “that only means we’re at a new beginning.”
Here’s what she had to say:
I haven’t rewatched (the fight). I haven’t read about it. I won’t. I don’t see a point in reliving the moment when a part of my loved one died, when I saw someone I cared about have her soul crushed. The world watched Ronda fall, but I have had the opportunity to watch her get back up. To be proud of her and happy for her when she wins, and to be proud of her and concerned for her when she loses. To tell her that I loved her just as much in the moments after the fight as I had in the moments before. To put my arm around her and try to protect her. To push aside the negativity. To help her get back up. Not just in the past few weeks but in the past 28 years.
She also explained that the backlash against Rousey online did have an effect on her:
I saw how horrible people can be to someone they don’t even know, which made me even more appreciative when I saw how wonderfully Ronda’s friends and family treated her. Those are the people that matter. When some people reflect on Ronda and 2015, they will see it defined by a single event. They see it as the end. And in some ways, they’re right—but that only means we’re at a new beginning.
Ortiz co-wrote her sister’s book My Fight, Your Fight, which was released earlier in 2015. Rousey and Holm are expected to have a rematch in 2016, possibly at UFC 200.
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