--- title: Ronda Rousey Opens Up About First UFC Loss to Holly Holm description: Rousey spoke to ESPN The Magazine for its “Ideas of the Year” issue about her crushing defeat. canonical: https://time.com/4140982/ronda-rousey-opens-up-about-first-ufc-loss/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-08T20:52:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:53.193Z og:title: 4 Things We Learned About Ronda Rousey from Her ESPN Interview og:description: "I always say you have to be willing to get your heart broken" og:url: https://time.com/4140982/ronda-rousey-opens-up-about-first-ufc-loss/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca5d677a778763a1/6988746b2dce01bc949e6d94/ronda-rousey-first-ufc-loss.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: UFC 193: Rousey v Holm og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 4 Things We Learned About Ronda Rousey from Her ESPN Interview twitter:description: "I always say you have to be willing to get your heart broken" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca5d677a778763a1/6988746b2dce01bc949e6d94/ronda-rousey-first-ufc-loss.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 4 Things We Learned About Ronda Rousey from Her ESPN Interview > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=95cda454-261d-4674-a260-56aea3f7a573&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Ronda Rousey On Holly Holm Fight: 'I Need To Come Back' [Watch (HLS stream): Ronda Rousey On Holly Holm Fight: 'I Need To Come Back'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9Fv5wqfv.m3u8) (0:46)  _Published 2015-12-08. In November, Holly Holm knocked out Ronda Rousey in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. And now, she’s hungry for a rematch._  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Dec 8, 2015 8:52 PM UTC  Ronda Rousey faces Holly Holm in their UFC women's bantamweight championship bout during the UFC 193 event at Etihad Stadium on November 15, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Ronda Rousey faces Holly Holm in their UFC women's bantamweight championship bout during the UFC 193 event at Etihad Stadium on November 15, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Dec 8, 2015 8:52 PM UTC Ronda Rousey lost her UFC women’s bantamweight title and undefeated status with a [shocking knockout by Holly Holm](http://time.com/4113612/holly-holm-ronda-rousey-lose-knockout/) in November. Opening up for the first time since the match in Australia, the 28-year-old fighter spoke to [ESPN The Magazine](http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/%5F/page/espnwrousey/in-exclusive-interview-ronda-rousey-says-not-losing-holly-holm) for its “Ideas of the Year” issue about her stunning defeat. **1\. The loss was crushing for her** Rousey had been planning to [“disappear for a while”](http://time.com/4109967/ronda-rousey-fight-disappear/) after her fight with Holm, but she had thought it would be time to celebrate her victory, not agonize over her defeat. “I’m just really f—ing sad,” she said. “I’ve turned off my phone. I haven’t looked at it. I’ve just been having long conversations with Mochi \[her 7-year-old Argentinian Mastiff\].” **2\. She’s embarrassed about how she fought** Rousey explained that she didn’t feel good about the fight after she took a big hit in the first round. “I got hit in that first round. … I cut my lip open and knocked a couple of my teeth loose. I was out on my feet from the very beginning.” she said. “It was like a dumbed-down dreamy version of yourself making decisions. … I was just trying to shake myself out of it. I kept saying to myself, ‘You’re OK, keep fighting. You’re OK, keep fighting.’ I just feel so embarrassed. How I fought after that is such an embarrassing representation of myself. I wasn’t even f—ing there.” **3\. Recovering from the knockout has been difficult** The day after she got home from the match, she left for a trip to a remote ranch in Texas with her boyfriend, Travis Browne, to regroup. “I kind of just slept a lot and ate fast food,” Rousey said. “First I was so sick I couldn’t eat anything…Physically, my body was refusing its own failures. It was, like, sick of itself. Expelling itself. Like all the skin came off my face. My whole body flushed it out.” She admitted that the shot that knocked her unconscious in the end, a kick to her face by Holm, was so hard that it’ll take her “three to six months before I can eat an apple, let alone take an impact.” **4\. None of this means she is giving up** Rousey is eager for a rematch: “I need to come back. I need to beat this chick. Who knows if I’m going to pop my teeth out or break my jaw or rip my lip open again. I have to f—ing do it. It doesn’t matter. I have to do it.” She spoke about how she is still willing to lay everything on the line. “I always say you have to be willing to get your heart broken. That’s just what f—ing happens when you try,” she said. “I guess it’s all going to be determined by what happens in the rematch. Everything is going to be determined by that. Either I’ll win and keep going or I won’t and I’ll be done with everything.” ## Transcript UFC fighter Ronda Rousey is opening up for the first time since her November 14th loss to Holly Holm. She says she's sad and still recovering but she wants a rematch. She exclusively told ESPN The Magazine, it might me three to six months before I can eat an apple, let alone take an impact. " I need to come back. I need to beat this chick ." Holm knocked out Rousey in the second round of UFC 193 in what's considered to be one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Lorenzo and I should lose our promoters license and never be allowed to promote another fight again if we don't make this rematch. UFC President Dale [ UNKNOWN ] says a rematch is going to happen. And both [ UNKNOWN ] and [ UNKNOWN ] said they were interested in one as well. 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