Ronda Rousey will make her long-awaited return to the Octagon against Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 on Dec. 30, but former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell has questioned her mentality and choice of opponent.
As seen in the following video, courtesy of TMZ Sports, The Iceman is unsure if Rousey's state of mind is where it needs to be in order to return to her dominant ways:
Rowdy hasn't competed since she was knocked out by Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November 2015 for her first career loss. In addition to taking a lengthy hiatus, she admitted to Ellen DeGeneres (via Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com) in February she contemplated suicide after the defeat.
Liddell compared Rousey's situation to that of Jose Aldo, who was quick to look for redemption after his loss to Conor McGregor, per TMZ Sports (h/t Milan Ordonez of Bloody Elbow): "A guy like Aldo gets knocked out, he wanted to fight that day. He wanted a shot at (McGregor) that day. That's a fighter. That's a guy that's got it together up here (mentally). 'I made a mistake, I know what I did, I want to win now.' She folded. I don’t know what happened."
In facing Nunes, Rousey will be going right after the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship that she dropped to Holm.
Liddell believes that may be a major mistake due to the stiff challenge that Nunes presents: "It's hard for her at her stature to come back at a smaller fight. But (as a coach), I would've gotten her a warm-up fight, just to get mentally back in the game. (Nunes) is a tough, tough opponent. If you want to come back, that's the one to come back and show you're back."
In a November interview with DeGeneres (via Michael Blaustein of the New York Post), Rousey revealed the Nunes bout is likely to be "one of" her "last fights" in the UFC, which may play into her sense of urgency to go after the championship.
Rousey was once viewed as a mythical, unstoppable force, but much of that aura was eliminated with the loss to Holm.
Her comments and actions in the aftermath has led many to question if the confidence she once had will ever return, but a return to form against Nunes would go a long way toward proving that the Holm fight was a speed bump rather than the new norm.
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