Rhonda Rousey finally breaks her silence in the aftermath of her devastating loss to Amanda Nunes who retained UFC's women's bantamweight title. NBA stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were quick to defend her amidst the backlash on social media.
After her loss to Holly Holm in the second round of UFC 193 back in November 2015, Rousey was focused on getting back on her winning ways. However, she failed to do so after losing a 48-second fight with Nunes.
Speaking to ESPN, she thanked her fans who offered their unrelenting support even in the most difficult times. She went to say that she will need some time to think things over and reflect on her career before she makes any decision about her future.
"I want to say thank you to all of my fans who have been there for me in not only the greatest moments but in the most difficult ones. Words cannot convey how much your love and support means to me," she said.
She resigned that sometimes things don't go as planned despite exerting one's best effort.
"However, sometimes - even when you prepare and give everything you have and want something so badly - it doesn't work how you planned," she said.
She went to say that she is still happy about the positive developments in the sport and commended all other women UFC fighters including Nunes.
Elsewhere, NBA stars Lebron James and Kobe Bryant extended their support to Rousey. Both athletes said that Rousey does not deserve all the backlash she is getting.
James claimed to know what Rousey was going through from experience. He said that generally in sports, people tend to build them [athletes] up as high as they can just to tear them down. He lamented that people tend to make the "teardown story" more important than someone's journey to get to the top, CBS Sports reported.
Bryant on the other hand, hit the people who were rejoicing and mocking Rousey after her defeat. The Black Mamba believes that instead of criticizing Rousey, people should give her respect for putting the MMA sport on the map.
Watch the highlights of the fight below: