“The Black Sheep Loser in My House” – Ronda Rousey Recalled How She Was Frowned Upon in Her Family Before UFC Success on The Joe Rogan Experience in 2015

When you’ve been a world champion fighter in two different promotions, the world will always judge you with exceptionally high standards. Such was the case of UFC superstar Ronda Rousey. The American mixed martial artist was the first female UFC bantamweight champion and a massive PPV star in her prime. However, she fell from the zenith of her career after two successive title fight losses. Rousey retired in 2016 and became the first female UFC Hall of Famer in 2018. Despite a stellar resume, two title fight losses against two formidable fighters were enough to make the former champion retire. This speaks volumes about the standards these athletes set for themselves.

During an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, “Rowdy” reminisced about her upbringing and how her family set incredibly high standards.

When Ronda Rousey told Joe Rogan she was the “black sheep” in the family

Back in August 2015, Ronda Rousey and her head trainer Edmond Tarverdyan appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience. During their conversation, Rousey revealed the influence her upbringing had on her life and career.

The former UFC and Strikeforce champion explained how her family frowned upon her for a long time. She said she was the black sheep in the family before her accomplishments.

“I was like the black sheep loser in my house for like a long time, Yeah, because everybody else has like bachelor’s and master’s degrees and they’re like, you know, like, average was like below average, like, exceptional was average in our family.”

‘Rowdy’ also revealed the one rule that was prevalent in her household growing up- “The rule was that you could pick anything you wanted to do in the world, but you just had to be the best in the world at it. Just like, you don’t have to pick one specific thing, but you just have to be the best in the world at it.”

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Despite the incredibly high standards set by her family, Rousey was grateful for the lasting impact it had on her. She said it helped her deal with things in life better.

Rousey explained why she was grateful for her upbringing

The last female Strikeforce bantamweight champion and first female UFC champion was no stranger to high-pressure situations. Rousey credited her upbringing for her ability to deal with the pressure of big stages. She used JRE as an example of one such situation,

“Now I’m happy for it because now I’m in high-pressure situations all the time and I can totally deal with it. I mean, now I’m on The Joe Rogan Experience and I’m sure my heart rate is perfectly fine.”

Responding to Rousey, Rogan joked JRE was a relatively low-pressure situation. However, Rousey clarified herself saying she felt pressure because she was a big fan of the show.

“Like, my first time I came on the show, I was a little bit, like, amped up, because I would watch it all the time and I was a fan.”

The former champion also recollected watching JRE while having her post-training sandwich.

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What do you think about Rousey’s account of her upbringing? Do you think it’s conducive to raise someone with such high standards? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.