Ronda Rousey didn’t talk to the media after another devastating loss last night against Amanda Nunes at UFC 207, but her mother AnnMaria De Mars took to her own blog to speak out in support of her daughter.
De Mars had been an outspoken critic of Rousey’s coach Edmond Tarverdyan prior to her 2015 loss to Holly Holm, but she didn’t even mention him this time around, instead choosing to focus on the many accolades that her daughter has achieved over the years.
“I have this to say about my daughter, Ronda
Like every mother and daughter on the face of the earth, Ronda and I don’t always see eye to eye. However, there is one situation where I am pretty certain.All of those who have criticized Ronda for taking a loss so to heart, for not just ‘shrugging it off’ don’t understand that what made Ronda so successful is that she cares DEEPLY about winning to an extent that I don’t believe the average person can wrap his/her head around.
Caring deeply about something and working your hardest to achieve it doesn’t mean you make the right decisions 100% of the time. Wouldn’t it be a nicer world if it did?
Those of you who want to criticize Ronda, I just want to point out a few things. First of all, I know her better than you and she is a smart, kind, talented, generous, hard-working person.
Second, I’d like to list some of her accomplishments, and note that she isn’t yet 30 years old.
Junior World Judo Champion
Panamerican Games Judo Gold Medalist
First American woman in a decade to win a world cup in judo (and then she went on to win several more)
U.S. Open Gold Medalist
World Judo Championships Silver Medalist
Olympic Bronze Medalist
U.S. Senior National Champion
First UFC World Champion
First woman to make a million dollars in martial arts
Co-authored sports book of the year – My Fight/ Your Fight
Acted in three moviesThat’s just a partial list, but let me suggest that someone who has been world level athlete in two sports, written a best seller, acted in movies and made millions of dollars, all before the age of 30 has a pretty darn good track record. On top of that, Ronda has been part of the USADA drug testing since she was 16 years old, never failed a drug test, always paid her taxes, never been arrested, never been to rehab, has zero divorces, zero DUIs and zero children. While you might think that is to be expected, look how many celebrities (heck, look how many of your neighbors) can say that.
I am very proud of my daughter.
As my other wonderful daughter, Maria, told her ,
“We love you just as much 10 minutes after every fight as we did in the 10 minutes before.”
