LAS VEGAS — Despite Ronda Rousey’s absence, the buzz surrounding “Rowdy” was enormous during UFC 207’s media day Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena.
As expected, Rousey did not attend media availability ahead of Friday night’s stacked card as she gets set to make her long-awaited return to the octagon against Amanda Nunes for a chance to reclaim the UFC women’s bantamweight belt. That said, UFC president Dana White fully backed the former champion’s request in an unusually long scrum, saying Rousey has earned the right to make such a demand.
“(Rousey) has done a lot for this company,” White said. “She’s done a lot for the sport. She’s done a lot for women in the sport, and this is what she asked for. She’s never asked for much. She asked for this and I said yes.”
Rousey has laid relatively low following her shocking defeat to Holly Holm at UFC 193 last November. The only UFC event she publicly attended was at the UFC 205 press conference in New York when she stormed off stage without speaking to the media after a wild staredown with Nunes at Madison Square Garden.
Although Rousey has been quiet, White says she’s in tip-top shape and likely will speak to the media following Friday night’s fight.
“I talk to her everyday. She’s great,” White said. “She’s as good as I’ve ever seen her. She’s physically in amazing shape. She’s in great spirits. She’s fired up. She’s like the old Ronda again.”
White cited Rousey’s willingness to be flexible in the past as one of the reasons why he allowed her to skip media availability leading up to her fight.
“Back in the day, Ronda would literally do anything we asked her to do. Anything,” White said. “If the guys wouldn’t do something, she would pick up the phone and do it herself. For her to ask for something like this, how can I say no? She’s done a lot.”
As far as not speaking to the media becoming a bad habit for Rousey and other fighters?
“This is a one and done,” White said. “It doesn’t open flood gates. It doesn’t change anything. If somebody doesn’t want to show up for a press conference, I’ll pull them from the card.”
