Matt Brown says Ronda Rousey’s comeback felt hollow from start to finish and that she missed a major opportunity to repair her relationship with combat sports fans.
Brown, speaking on The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast, offered a sweeping critique of Rousey’s approach to the fight, the promotion, and her public persona surrounding the Netflix return.
“For me personally and I think I speak for a lot of people, there was no redeeming qualities for this card, in terms of making us bigger fans of Ronda. I don’t like how she carried herself. I don’t like how she spoke. I think she’s a narcissist, and I think she’s got a lot of mental issues, and I think she maybe needs to go to therapy or something. If she said she’s coming back for money, I get it. You’re prize fighting. Come back get a bag. There’s no redeeming quality about winning this fight. You fought someone that hasn’t fought in 17 years. What are you proud of? There’s nothing to be proud of there.”
Brown took particular issue with how Rousey promoted the event, including her public targeting of UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell and her shots at current bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison.
“I think she’s just kind of a narcissistic person and nothing about this really felt good, in my opinion. The whole thing with this fight card, I don’t think anybody would disagree that this whole fight card from beginning to end was kind of cringe as f*ck. Ronda was just the cringiest person ever with her mean mugging the whole time and looking so angry and all the buildup, all the shit she said leading up to it. Talking so much shit to Hunter Campbell and this kind of vengeful personality that she has and all this anger and frustration. You really just need to go to therapy.”
Brown said he viewed the comeback as a missed opportunity for genuine redemption.
“That’s what sucks. This was kind of an opportunity for her to redeem herself for the fans and for the community in general. She certainly did not do that at all. At least I felt that way. To me, it’s not interesting. It’s not interesting, and it’s not fun. She had it written down in her pocket. It’s not exciting. It does not feel authentic.”
He closed with a direct message about her approach to publicity.
“We want to love Ronda. This was her opportunity — another of her thousand opportunities — but this was a huge opportunity for her to create a lot of love for her. She could have gotten even more views if she came out all humble and just speaking properly and not making it about Hunter Campbell and the UFC. Not making it about trying to go out on a win. Who the fck is doing her public relations? She’s got the fame and the money, she’s got to have a PR person in her ear saying ‘look, just speak like this.’ Even if you fake it. Just fcking say half-right things. She just can’t do it.”
Rousey submitted Carano in 17 seconds with an armbar and announced her retirement from fighting again following the win. She has expressed interest in remaining involved with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions in an executive capacity.