Former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate has publicly criticized Ronda Rousey for her lack of personal growth.
Rousey broke barriers to become a UFC titleholder and a superstar in the sport, but retired from mixed martial arts in 2016 after consecutive knockout losses.
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During her recent media tour promoting her autobiography, “Our Fight,” Rousey revealed that her retirement from MMA was prompted by previously unknown health issues.
“Rowdy” claims he has suffered from concussions since his days as an Olympic judoka and said he also suffered a concussion during his knockout loss to Holly Holm in 2015.
Those comments were not well received by critics, who saw the concussion revelation as an excuse to undermine Holm's sensational performance.
Rousey also named Joe Rogan as one of the MMA media figures who turned their back on her after Holm and Amanda Nunes ended her career.
The 37-year-old has not attended a UFC event since retiring and claims she won't go because she is convinced the crowd will boo her.
To Tate, Rousey's recent comments highlight some of her character flaws.
“Personally, I don't have the same animosity towards Ronda that I once had,” Tate said on SiriusXM's “MMA Today” with Ryan McKinnell.
“Despite the disrespect and frustration I have felt, I have overcome them, acknowledged my shortcomings and strived to become a better person.
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“I wish I could say I’ve seen the same growth in Rhonda, but I don’t think so.
“She certainly seems to be harboring resentment, frustration and anger and letting that dictate her next actions.
“I don't think a large part of the MMA community has ever turned their back on Ronda.”
When they first faced off for the Strikeforce bantamweight title in March 2012, Tate lost to Rousey by first-round submission.
A year later, their rematch at UFC ended with a similar result, with Rousey again forcing Tate to tap via armbar, but this time it took her three rounds to secure the victory.
The bout comes after an extremely hostile season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” in which the UFC rivals clashed on multiple occasions in front of the cameras as each played the other's coach.
Rousey made it very clear how much she disliked Tate, and “Cupcake” is convinced her longtime nemesis still dwells on the negativity.
Tait added: “She forgot that there are hundreds of thousands of girls all over the world who still worship her.”
“I didn't care if she won or lost. I thought she was great either way. I don't think she's where I'd like her to be yet.”
“I think she's still really hurt, but I think she's still really focused on herself rather than on self-growth. I think she's still focused on, 'Oh, this happened to me, everyone turned their back on me, I had a concussion and no one thought about me.'”
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“Well, hang on, it's not like that. Sometimes people beat you up a little bit. That's what happens when you're famous.”
“No one escapes unscathed in life, especially when your life is placed on a scale where everyone witnesses your failures just as much as they witness your successes.
“But that happens to every champion. This isn't a Ronda Rousey versus the world situation. When you're great, people just want to see that greatness go down.”
