Coach Edmond Tarverdyan breaks silence on Ronda Rousey’s UFC 207 loss

Last Friday, in the main event of UFC 207, former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey stepped into the Octagon for the first time since she was flattened by a Holly Holm head kick more than a year ago. She made her long awaited return against the division’s reigning queen, brick-fisted Brazilian Amanda Nunes.

Unfortunately for Rousey and her hordes of fans, her comeback went terribly, as she fell victim to Nunes’ aggressive standup attack just 48 seconds into the fight.

In the wake of this lopsided loss, many fans and pundits have speculated that it may be time for her to hang up the gloves. Those that are interested in seeing her return to the Octagon, meanwhile, believe almost unanimously that she’ll have to leave her long-time coach Edmond Tarverdyan if she wants to reestablish herself as one of the division’s top fighters. Even Nunes is of this opinion.

The criticisms of Tarverdyan are manifold, but generally stem from the unimpressive UFC record of fighters under his tutelage, and his rather ineffective coaching during fights.

Early this week, TMZ caught up with Tarverdyan, and attempted to get him to weigh in on the possibility of a Rousey return, and address his many skeptics in the MMA community. Though the polarizing coach was fairly tight lipped, he did offer a few responses.

“It’s all good man, no plans made yet,” he said when asked if Rousey would return. 

“It doesn’t matter what people say,” he said, when asked about criticisms of his coaching. 

Watch TMZ’s full – if rather brief – interview with Edmond Tarverdyan at the top of this article.

In addition to Rousey, Tarverdyan is also the head coach of her boyfriend, UFC heavyweight Travis Browne. He has also recently coached Jake Ellenberger and Clay Guida, though both have left his camp.

Do you think Rousey will return to the Octagon? If she does, is Edmond Tarverdyan the right coach for her? Sound off, PENN Nation!