Ronda Rousey’s 25-Year-Old Protégé Opens Up on “Difficult” Step to Part Ways – “Mentally, Physically, It Was…”

In a recent interview, Edmen Shahbazyan, the 25-year-old protégé to Ronda Rousey, opened up regarding his ex-coach. He changed his training camp and coach, which is not a usual move done by any champion. The action clearly showed everyone that there must have been something major.

In the video, Shahbazyan opens up about why he changed his gym; and how it feels like to be a part of such a huge change.

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Shahbazyan hasn’t been doing well in the previous few matches; considering he should technically be in the prime of his career. It can be observed that he is showing an inclination toward the fact that his ex-coach, Ronda Rousey, had something to do with his downfall.

What was the consequence?

In light of everything, Shahbazyan was observed changing his gym, coach, staff, and location majorly. According to him, when he talked to his ‘now’ manager, Ali Abdelaziz, he recommended Shahbazyan move to Vegas, where he also knew an old coach of his. He adds that everything added up just perfectly, and he took a few days adjusting to Vegas, the coaches, the staff, and the training partners.

When asked about how he felt upon leaving the gym he practically grew old in, he said, “this is difficult to switch up but, you know, I feel like it was needed. Mentally, physically, it was needed for me to make that change.”

Depth of the story: Ronda Rousey and Edmen Shahbazyan

‘The Golden Boy’ has been training at the same gym since he was 15 years old under the UFC champion Ronda Rousey aka ‘Rowdy’. Rousey was a UFC fighter, but she left that part of herself behind back in 2016. Later she was inducted into the UFC hall of fame and became the first female fighter to do so.

Whatever the case may be with her career, she was never seen as a good coach. The controversy started to arise when a video of Rousey ‘ragdolling’ Shahbazyan got viral.

Shahbazyan and Rousey used to train together as part of the same gym. In fact, she trained him and they had a mentor-disciple relationship. Apart from the controversy, the audience started criticizing Shahbazyan’s defeat streak, hinting that something was off about the training.

What about his future?

The Golden Boy confirms for his fans that he is all set to return after more than a year. Fans can expect him to take a fight up against a fairly matched Dalcha Lungiambula, fighting in the middleweight category in UFC 282.

Watch this story: 5 MMA Fighters Who Are Also Olympic Medalist From Ronda Rousey To Henry Cejudo

Is it going to be the comeback fans are craving? Stay tuned to know more.