Chael Sonnen: Ronda Rousey Was Created By the Media

Chael Sonnen was a guest on Jim Ross’s podcast this week. In the snippet above, he was asked to break down the upcoming UFC fight between Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey. Sonnen confessed that he did not have much knowledge of Nunes, but has heard good things out of her camp, before saying essentially that Rousey has always been overrated.

“Ronda was created by the media,” Sonnen said. “Ronda was never as good as the media said she was. She was never as big of a draw or as big of a selling piece as they said she was. That’s not a knock on Ronda. That’s just a fair assessment. She’s very good.”

Sonnen said that judo does not prepare its competitors for combat sports, and that Rousey is the only example of success to come out of it. “Ronda is gritty, she’s tough, she’s a fantastic competitor,” he said. “Her will and her heart is what took her to the top more than her skill set.”

It is worth noting that Sonnen does not have the most sterling reputation. Nevertheless, Rousey went from destroying opponent after opponent in mere seconds to getting kicked in the mouth by Holly Holm. Her return fight against Nunes at UFC 207 on December 30th will be very interesting to observe.