In the wake of Ronda Rousey's 48-second destruction by Amanda Nunes in UFC 207 on Friday night, Rousey released a statement in which she said she needed "to take some time to reflect and think about the future".
What Rousey's future holds is uncertain. Any hopes she might have had of getting a rematch with Holly Holm have been damaged by the defeat to Nunes - but it's questionable as to whether Rousey will really fancy getting back into the octagon at all, having already begun to embark on a film career (she appeared in films such as 'The Expendables 3' and 'Furious 7').
If it was up to Rousey's mother, AnnMaria De Mars, her daughter would never set foot in an octagon ever again.
De Mars was stopped by TMZ reporters after Rousey's fight and - while she may have been influenced by the immediacy of Rousey's crushing loss - she made it clear that she thought Rousey (who she said was "sad and disappointed") should pursue other ways of earning a living:
I would like to see her retire.
I would like to have seen her retire a long time ago. Who wants to see their kid get hit? She's got a lot of talent in a lot of other things...movies, writing, produce. She's really, really smart...
I told her that at the very beginning when she started this, I said you're smart and beautiful, let the stupid people get punched in the face.
Sorry, stupid people.
While De Mars said that her daughter was an "adult" who could "make her own decisions" she did acknowledge that now was not the time for Rousey to make hasty choices about her future.
If you get in a fight with somebody or you're angry, that's not the time to make a decision. I would say decisions are best made when you're not real emotional.
She also said she hadn't "changed her opinions" on Rousey's coach, who she has called a "terrible coach" in the past and who she said "wouldn't even give (Rousey) the time of day" when she first came to him as an athlete.
Elsewhere De Mars wrote a blog post about her daughter in which she said how "proud" she said Rousey "cares DEEPLY about winning to an extent that I don't believe the average person can wrap his/her head around":
Let me suggest that someone who has been world level athlete (sic) 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. On top of that, Ronda has been part of the USADA 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.
It's a good thing she isn't one of those "stupid people", then. After all, who wants to get hit on the head?
