Dana White recalls consoling Ronda Rousey after UFC 207 loss

This past weekend, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey made her highly anticipated return to the Octagon after over a year away from the cage. The return was a very short lived one as Rousey was tagged in the opening moments of the fight before ultimately being stopped just 48 seconds into the fight due to strikes.

Following the fight, an emotional Rousey skipped out on her post-fight Octagon interview and opted to head backstage. It was there that UFC President Dana White helped console the former champ for nearly 45 minutes. He spoke to ESPN:

“I must have tears, blood and boogers all over my f—ing jacket. I went in there and hugged her for 45 minutes,” White said. “I told her, ‘I love you so much, and whatever you want to do next, I got your back. You built this. This doesn’t exist without you. You’re the best decision I ever made.'”

“I walked out of the arena and people were crying, men and women,” White said. “She has been an amazing role model and amazing partner, an amazing friend.

“For the millions of people who admire her, she is somebody who is actually worth the admiration. Believe me, there’s a lot of celebrities out there that are popular. I meet them all the time. They are not worth your admiration. They suck. But Ronda Rousey is all of that. She’s incredible.”

This statement comes on the heels of White stating that rousey was taking the loss to Nunes better than she took the loss to Holm over a year ago. White described Rousey’s mentality post-UFC 207 as:

“She is devastated but she is a lot better than she was during the Holly Holm fight. Obviously she is upset but she has a lot of support with her and I think it is going to be better than the Holly fight.”