Ronda Rousey, the UFC women's bantamweight champion, is no stranger to controversy or media attention, so it shouldn't be surprising that her latest comments are making the rounds.
During a media session with one of the UFC's biggest villains, Rousey made a bizarre claim of affection for retired mixed martial arts legend Fedor Emelianenko. "Do I want to have 57 of his babies? Yes, it's true," Rousey said. "I think he's married, though, so I'm not allowed."
She elaborated further on the odd remark, explaining that Fedor had a major impact on her decision to pursue mixed martial arts. "He was my first real exposure to MMA," Rousey said. "A couple years ago a friend of mine showed me a Fedor Emelianenko highlight and it just blew my mind." She also called Emelianenko her "image of what MMA is supposed to be."
Rousey is slated to take on Sarah McMann at UFC 170 on February 22nd, but her last fight with Miesha Tate is still a big topic of discussion. Rousey drew severe jeers from the crowd after refusing to shake Tate's hand following her win, and stands by her decision.
"I really think that if me and her fought alone in her gym if there weren't people there watching, she wouldn't have offered her hand to me," Rousey said. "Her actions were entirely influenced by being watched. My actions were all despite being watched."
Rousey said she blew off Tate's peace offering because she would've felt that she was being untrue to herself if she did otherwise.
"It's not a fakeable moment and it was entirely the right thing to do because I didn't think about it," Rousey said. "It was immediate. It was just like, 'nope.' Maybe if I took the time to think about it I would have changed my mind, but then it would have been the wrong decision, because it would have meant that my first inclination, I mean, I had that for a reason.
"I stood my ground in a very difficult situation where I would be extremely criticized for doing so."
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