Gary A. Vasquez — USA TODAY Sports
UFC had something great going back in February when Ronda Rousey made her debut against Liz Carmouche. At the time, she was getting more media coverage than Miley Cyrus is now.
Rousey was an A-Lister, with magazines and talk shows beating down her door. But now? Rousey has fallen from the public radar faster than Sarah Palin. Rousey was supposed to be the savior of “The Ultimate Fighter” TV show on Fox Sports 1, its new channel.
The show, however, debuted to less than 750,000 viewers — an all-time low. A lot has gone wrong with the how UFC has presented Rousey. Rather than portraying her as one of the greatest fighters in the world, the UFC has marketed her as the sassy chick with a mean streak.
First, the UFC dumped Cat Zingano as co-coach of “The Ultimate Fighter” after a knee injury, then brought in Miesha Tate — without telling Rousey. The champ was enraged at the television betrayal. Then, from what Rousey and Tate have both said publicly, Rousey comes across as crazy, manic and well, like a witch.
Rousey has fallen off the public radar. She’s landed a movie role, but she unfortunately hasn’t been the crossover athlete who has taken MMA into the mainstream.
And that’s all the UFC’s fault. Rousey is one of the most smartest, most articulate and talented athletes in the sport. She should be the face of MMA, not the hot mess of MMA. Rousey won’t even fight in the main event in her next fight. She will fight on co-main event under the Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman II fight at UFC 168.
If Rousey is smart, she will get out of the UFC as soon as possible and make the most of a career in Hollywood. She has great potential to be a transforming athlete in the sport, but if the UFC isn’t going to handle her correctly, she’s better off looking out for herself.
Joshua Molina is a mixed martial arts and pro wrestling writer for www.rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECMolina and add him to your network on Google.
