Mixed martial artist Chael Sonnen attends the UFC 170 event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on February 22, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Former UFC middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen spoke highly of Ronda Rousey’s career following bantamweight champion Julianna Pena pouring scorn on her legacy in the UFC
Chael Sonnen has jumped to the defense of one of the biggest women’s MMA fighters of all time- Ronda Rousey. Julianna Pena had dismissed Rousey’s legacy and claimed that she tarnished her legacy after losing a couple of fights.
Julianna Pena made an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, and discussed about her latest season of The Ultimate Fighter with Amanda Nunes, her preparation for the rematch, and life after causing the biggest upset in women’s MMA history.
When asked about Ronda Rousey’s legacy in the UFC, Pena was quick to criticize the Olympic Judo bronze medalist by claiming that she is a joke in the women’s MMA landscape. Rousey alongside Liz Carmouche was among the first women to set foot inside the UFC octagon, and Ronda’s run as the bantamweight champion drew attention to the division.
“Ronda is so old news, right?” Pena said. “I think that what’s incredible about her is that she opened up the door and was destroying people in 10 seconds, and became a star because she was demolishing people in the first round, and that’s great — but she got knocked out twice and never came back. So how legit is she?
“That’s what I’m saying, she’s kind of a joke in the MMA world now, because she’s a — what is the word? — sellout. Like, a little bit of a sellout there.
“I mean, I guess I understand, right? It’s like, pro wrestling is fake, you get paid millions of dollars, I get it. But for me, for real s***, for like the ‘you’re the real, real deal,’ I would say that that’s in the UFC. And if she ever wants any of that real smoke, I’m ready.”
Former UFC middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen was amongst the first to jump to Rousey’s defense. Although he did not condemn Julianna Pena directly, it was evident that he had heard her comments and wanted to provide his two cents on Rousey’s illustrious career.
He praised the former Olympic Judo bronze medalist for her quality of adaptability and said that even though he understands the shade thrown at her, it would be unmindful to dismiss her contribution to the sport of MMA.
Speaking about her on his Youtube channel, Sonnen said ‘ “[ Rousey] doesn’t get enough credit for her ability to adjust. Many people gave Ronda a hard time from our side of the tracks that when things didn’t go her way, she took her ball and go home. That was true. You could give Ronda that criticism… But if you stop right there, you haven’t told the whole story. Ronda converted, which is the most difficult thing that you could ever do if you were in front of the the public eye and you can convert and take one audience over here and then excel, that’s the rest of the Ronda story.”
More MMA news
Follow our dedicated MMA page for instant MMA news and updates