Ronda Rousey On TUF 18: I Was Obsessed With My Team, Miesha Was Worried About Her Hair

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey has seen her reputation take a serious hit in the aftermath of her first coaching stint opposite rival Miesha Tate on The Ultimate Fighter 18.

Many fans thought Rousey came off as a bit obsessive and confrontational. Indeed it was a risky proposition to book Rousey on the show because her popularity had been soaring as the face of women’s MMA prior to the show.

But now it’s Tate that may be everyone’s sweetheart. She appeared to be the less abrasive coach on the show, taking a much more laid back approach. Rousey let her competitive nature shine through, and it may have backfired.

She doesn’t really care how she came across, however. Rousey’s competitive spirit is what earned her an Olympic silver medal in judo and it’s what has made her an undefeated and dominant MMA champion. “Rowdy” spoke up to Fighters Only to explain her focus on the show:

“Regardless of what everyone thinks of me and how I come off – everyone might think that I’m a crazy, psycho, competitive bitch – I promise you, you can go up and ask anyone who was on my team how I was as a coach, and they will 100% say I did the best I possibly could under the circumstances.”

“All I thought about was them. I obsessed over them, and whereas Miesha was spending a lot more time worried that her hair looked good for every shot, I was freaking out making sure that everyone was okay.”?

When the champ puts it like that it becomes a bit easier to understand her behavior on the show. She was obsessed with winning, so in turn she was obsessed with her team. It’s a bit of a low blow to say that Tate only cared about her makeup when her fighters Julianna Pena and Chris Holdsworth actually won the contracts, beating Rousey’s Jessica Rakoczy and Davey Grant in the finals.

After the TUF 18 Finale Rousey was noticeably upset and short with the media who interviewed her, creating an awkward situation when her and Tate appeared on TV together. Her anger in defeat is understandable, but when you’re a champion in her unique position you have to put forth a smiling image for the camera. Her refusal to do that is a big reason why she’s taken so much criticism from the show.

And it might have been the UFC’s job to have Rousey tone it down for the sake of the television cameras. With the proposed face of your still-developing women’s division as one of the coaches, every image projected is lasting and crucial.

Having Rousey portrayed as vindictive, mean, and maniacal about winning is not the best way to gain new fans and keep current ones.

But it happened. Rousey and Tate will now square off for the title in the co-main event of UFC 168 on December 28 to settle their differences.

Did the show sway your allegiance to Tate’s side at all? Or was it already there in the first place?