Rousey still struggling emotionally with UFC downfall

Ronda Rousey has fought back tears as she opened up about her move from UFC to WWE for the first time.

It's been over 12 months since she last stepped foot in the Octagon, but Rousey is still clearly struggling to come to terms with her losses to Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm.

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Following her 48-second loss to Nunes at UFC 207, a shattered Rousey refused all post-fight press conferences.

And now, 13 months later, she's still not really ready to address her feelings about what unfolded.

“I think I'd just rather not talk about that right now,” Rousey told ESPN when asked to discuss her losses to Nunes and Holm.

Rousey appeared on the verge of tears when asked about those fights, but regained her composure and detailed how tough it's been for her to accept losses in her martial arts career.

She compared her UFC downfall to experiences in judo when she twice attempted to win a gold medal at the Olympics, but came up short both times.

“I feel like the only thing that helped me — winning the Olympics was the only thing I cared about as a kid, I devoted my whole life to it and I tried and I tried.

"Winning the World Championships like my mum did and I got to the finals of the World Championships and I lost. I went to two Olympics and I lost.

"It's still hard to realise that your childhood dreams are not coming true.

"I think the only thing that really helps is finding something else to devote myself to and to be successful at. I think I only was able to get past the Olympics when I started doing MMA. I do believe there's a parallel there.

“It still hurts that I didn’t win the Olympics and it sounds ridiculous to a lot of people, right? You were an Olympic medalist, you should be happy, but it would be hard to explain that to my 10-year-old self that was so sure she was going to win the Olympics.”

Rousey was a trailblazer for female MMA stars, defending her title belt six times while becoming one of the biggest draws in the history of the sport.

But Rousey doesn’t seem content with what she achieved, focusing on the two losses at the end of her career that continue to haunt her instead.

Rousey signed a multi-year deal with WWE on Monday after her first appearance at the Royal Rumble event.

She said she plans on dedicating the bulk of her attention on her new career with WWE, which likely leaves little time for any possible comeback to fighting.

“That's what everybody else seems to say. I mean, I never retired from judo, so if that's what you guys want to think,” Rousey said.

“All I know is that I really want to devote 100-percent of my time to wrestling right now and whatever people want to call that, they can call it.”

However she did leave the door open for a potential return to UFC if the right fight presented itself.

“I wouldn't doubt myself doing anything,” she said.

With MMA Weekly via Yahoo Sports