Ronda Rousey defended by her mother after brutal UFC 207 loss as she hits out at critics after taking loss badly

Critics noted Rousey's despair following the 48-second loss, but her mother, Ann Marie, says that anyone who knew the real Rousey would understand how much winning means to her

Ronda Rousey reacts with dejection after he UFC 207 knockout defeat by Amanda Nunes (Getty Images)

Ronda Rousey’s mother has leapt to the defence of the fallen UFC great after her devastating 48-second knockout defeat by Amanda Nunes at UFC 207, and claims that anyone wanting to criticise her daughter for the way she took her loss to heart doesn’t understand what type of person she really is.

29-year-old Rousey suffered a second consecutive loss in the UFC, 13 months after her defeat by Holly Holm at UFC 193. Having taking time away from the sport, Rousey returned on Friday night in the UFC’s final show of the year, but she looked a shadow of herself.

Defending bantamweight champion Nunes was able to stamp her authority on the fight from the get-go, and within 48 seconds it was all over, referee Herb Dean rushing in to end the fight after Rousey took a barrage of punches without landing a single shot herself.

Rousey waited for the decision before storming out of the ring and, soon enough, out of the T-Mobile Arena with her family by her side, snubbing the obligatory post-fight press conference in the process.

This led to plenty of criticism of the former bantamweight champion, with many claiming that she should not take the loss so personally. This led to a response, not from Rousey, but from her mother, Ann Maria, who claimed that the average person is not able to comprehend how much Rousey cares about winning in the Octagon.

Writing on her blog, Rousey’s mother said: “Like every mother and daughter on the face of the earth, Ronda and I don't always see eye to eye. However, there is one situation where I am pretty certain.

“All of those who have criticised Ronda for taking a loss so to heart, for not just 'shrugging it off' don't understand that what made Ronda so successful is that she cares DEEPLY about winning to an extent that I don't believe the average person can wrap his/her head around.

“Caring deeply about something and working your hardest to achieve it doesn't mean you make the right decisions 100% of the time. Wouldn't it be a nicer world if it did?

“Those of you who want to criticise Ronda, I just want to point out a few things. First of all, I know her better than you and she is a smart, kind, talented, generous, hard-working person.”

She went on to list Rousey’s achievements throughout her career, which range from claiming Olympic bronze in judo and becoming the first American Judo World Cup winner in more than 10 years to being crowned the UFC’s first female champion and the first woman to make $1m in MMA, all before the age of 30.

She continued: “That's just a partial list, but let me suggest that someone who has been world level athlete in two sports, written a best seller, acted in movies and made millions of dollars, all before the age of 30 has a pretty darn good track record.

Rousey was outclassed by the defending bantamweight champions Nunes (Getty)

“On top of that, Ronda has been part of the USADA [United States Anti-Doping Agency] drug testing since she was 16 years old, never failed a drug test, always paid her taxes, never been arrested, never been to rehab, has zero divorces, zero DUIs and zero children. While you might think that is to be expected, look how many celebrities (heck, look how many of your neighbors) can say that.

“I am very proud of my daughter. As my other wonderful daughter, Maria, told her: ‘We love you just as much 10 minutes after every fight as we did in the 10 minutes before.’