Former UFC champ Ronda Rousey has a history of hyperbole … or blatant lies, depending on who you ask.
“Rowdy” has been making the media rounds in recent weeks to help promote her combat sports comeback, a special Netflix main event against former Strikeforce sensation Gina Carano. But it sounds like the Olympian, who took home a bronze medal at the 2008 Sumer Games, is peddling tall tales about her days on the judo mats.
That’s according to fellow Olympian and current UFC bantamweight champion Kayla
Harrison.
“So in judo, we have this thing called Ippon Dori,” Harrison told Death Row MMA. “You’re out in the middle and it’s live gos, so if you throw, whoever wins stays. Say you and I are going, it’s like king of the hill, last man standing. So there’s no time limit. We could have a 30-second go or 30 minutes.”
Harrison, 35, knows a thing or two about judo, capturing Olympic gold in 2012 and then again in 2016.
“So she’s online telling this story about how, ‘Yeah, I had a lot of pride so I’d be out there for an hour with these girls and then finally a 90-kilo guy would take pity on me and come out and throw me.’ Dude, that is literally a blatant f*cking lie. Now you’re just making sh*t up. That never happened.”
Harrison was also unimpressed with Rousey’s UFC-hating promotion of the Carano fight.
“Best card in the history of fighting, haven’t you heard?” Harrison said. “She said this is the best female fight of all time. How old is Gina? She hasn’t fought in 17 years. Like, shut up.”
Carano turns 44 in just a few weeks and has not competed since summer 2009.
Harrison is currently recovering from neck surgery but is expected to defend her 135-pound title against former champion Amanda Nunes at some point later this year. Nunes is the last person to fight Rousey, sending “Rowdy” into a nearly 10-year absence by stopping her in the opening frame of their UFC 207 title fight.
A future fight between Rousey and Harrison is unlikely as long as this deal remains in place.
