Women’s MMA Icon Discusses Relationship with Former Foe’s Coach for May Clash
Ronda Rousey made headlines in the middle of February when she revealed that she’d be coming back to competition in MMA with a May 16 contest on Netflix against Gina Carano. It’ll be Rousey’s first fight under MMA rules since Dec. 30, 2016. On tha...
Ronda Rousey made headlines in the middle of February when she revealed that she’d be coming back to competition in MMA with a May 16 contest on Netflix against Gina Carano. It’ll be Rousey’s first fight under MMA rules since Dec. 30, 2016.
On that Friday night ahead of New Year’s Eve almost a decade ago, Rousey headlined UFC 207 on pay-per-view against Amanda Nunes. What was advertised as a five-round fight at five minutes per round to wrap up the 2016 slate in the UFC didn’t even get out of the first round’s first minute.
A slew of punches early on in the opening round served as the final salvo in Ronda Rousey’s final fight in nearly 10 years. Time of the knockout of the UFC 207 main event: 47 seconds into the bout.
With “Rowdy” set to make her return to the cage in less than a month and a half’s time, she’ll be training under Ricky Lundell. If you recall, Lundell served as a wrestling coach for rival Miesha Tate’s team during the 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter television series in 2013.
Although Ricky Lundell maintained a cordial rapport with Ronda Rousey during the production of her season of The Ultimate Fighter with Miesha Tate, it mattered very little to the one nicknamed “Rowdy” Recently, Rousey took to her YouTube channel to discuss her past encounters with Ricky Lundell.
“We were mortal enemies,” Ronda Rousey began after a chuckle, “started off as mortal enemies. He was coaching against me on The Ultimate Fighter, and he was so nice. I was like ‘This (expletive deleted) is so patronizing and fake,’ and I hated his guts! It was like the monkey in the closet from Family Guy.”
At this point, the video shows a screen capture of the infamous monkey in the closet pointing a finger at Chris Griffin, the elder son in the Griffin family.
“That was me to Ricky all the time,” she said. “This is a common theme, by the way, that he’s so nice that everyone’s like ‘This (censored)’s not for real.'”
No Hard Feelings Between Ronda Rousey, Ricky Lundell
It should be noted that throughout the entirety of Ronda Rousey’s comments about her coach during the taping of The Ultimate Fighter that both parties are laughing it off. Whatever animosity that Rousey had toward Lundell in the past has clearly faded with the passage of time.
Another wrinkle to this story is the fact that Ricky Lundell also served as the coach for Rousey’s husband, Travis Browne. Ronda Rousey also touched on the time that she and Browne stayed at Lundell’s house while she spent time playing World of Warcraft.
“I’m basically in one room, the same room I stay in now,” she said. “Same exact room, just smoking weed and playing World of Warcraft all day and I would only emerge to eat cereal. But, you were really nice and you kept me supplied with cereal and milk at all times. So, then, I was like ‘OK, OK, I really like Ricky. He’s really nice and he kept me supplied with cereal and a place to play World of Warcraft and cry and smoke weed during my depression.'”
Ricky Lundell Gives Rousey, Women’s MMA Plaudit
Despite the rocky past that Ronda Rousey has had with her coach for the Carano fight, Ricky Lundell mentioned that he’s got nothing but the utmost respect for his pupil and the growth of women’s MMA as a whole.
“I’ve always loved Ronda’s technique,” Lundell said. “Really, it was an honor to even be a part of the first Ultimate Fighter ever to feature women.”
After Rousey playfully interjected, calling that season of TUF “The worst experience ever,” Lundell continued with “For me, it wasn’t. I was just so excited I was getting to see women’s MMA step into a new stage, and to just even be a part of that on either side and be able to support that was just so exciting for me.”
Final Thoughts
It’s always refreshing to see two people with a confrontational history bury the hatchet. Ronda Rousey and Ricky Lundell have unquestionably done that ahead of the former’s May 16 fight versus Gina Carano.
Now, as the countdown to fight night continues, one question still remains: Will Ricky Lundell’s tutelage yield a return to the win column for “Rowdy?”
Only time will tell.
