NEW YORK — Much was made of Ronda Rousey rushing off the Madison Square Garden stage after her surprise appearance at UFC 205 weigh-ins Friday, as she apparently skipped an interview with Joe Rogan.
Problem is, Rousey never planned to do that interview, according to UFC president Dana White.
“First of all, she was never supposed to speak, and neither was Amanda (Nunes),” White said Saturday at the UFC 205 post-fight press conference. “My production guys screwed that thing up. And the thing is, it made Ronda looked bad, when she just stormed off and didn’t do it.
“She was not supposed to do an interview. She was supposed to go out there, square off and supposed to walk away.”
White is correct in that the whole thing made Rousey look bad. Her Dec. 30 bantamweight championship bout against Nunes at UFC 207 will be Rousey’s first fight since Nov. 14, 2015, when she stunningly lost the belt to Holly Holm at UFC 193, and she’ll be under tons of scrutiny after the long layoff. It wasn’t a good start for Rousey in the build-up to an enormous fight.
Thumbnail photo via Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports Images