Following yet another first round armbar victory, this time over former champion Sarah Kaufman, woman’s 135lb champion Ronda Rousey spoke to Showtime about her performance.
Believe it or not, despite finishing the fight in just 54 seconds, the thing that Rousey was most pleased about in this fight was that she took her time!
“It’s really cool how I had to change my habits from judo, because in judo I have a tendancy to rush ‘cos I only have a few seconds to get an armbar, but this time I got it and I thought ‘OK, take your time, take your time.’ You know, I thought if I went for it too early I might lose my position, so I feel like I’m developing more as a mixed martial artist and that I was able to take my time and change my position around until I was happy with where I was at before I went for it.
“I feel mature at this point now, more relaxed and not trying to like ‘go-go-go’ like my earlier fights.”
Rousey is as cool as a cucumber inside the cage despite all the hype surrounding her, and she says she’s got her mom to thank for that, plus a lifetime of competition.
“I don’t know, just years and years of competition you know. Like, even before I did judo I was a swimmer. I’ve been an athlete since I was six years old and my mom, she had a PhD in Developmental Pyschology and she’s a judo world champion – she knows how to raise a fighter from the ground up so I owe pretty much all of my mental capacity to her.”
Earlier in the week Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos challenged Rousey to a fight, whether in the cage or in the parking lot after tonight’s fight, and the champ says she’s ready whichever way it goes down.
“I’m expecting anything at any moment,” Rousey said with a chuckle. “I’m either expecting to fight her in January, or in five minutes from now when I leave the building!”
Watch Rousey’s full interview below.
