Ronda Rousey stands in the cage after Amanda Nunes forced a stoppage in the first round of their women’s bantamweight championship mixed martial arts bout at UFC 207, Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, in Las Vegas. AP
NBA superstar LeBron James has endured his fair share of backlash and animosity throughout his storied sports career, and he offered some kind words for another athlete in badly need of one, UFC fighter Ronda Rousey.
In the wake of a shocking 48-second beatdown of Rousey against Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 over the weekend, the former women’s bantamweight champion has been the subject of several cruel depictions online, after being completely annihilated in her much anticipated comeback fight.
READ: Rousey stopped by Nunes 48 seconds into comeback at UFC 207
Despite another setback for the Olympian judoka—her second straight loss following another devastating knockout defeat last year—the Cleveland Cavaliers’ franchise player displayed sympathy and encouragement.
“In sports, in general, they build you up as high as they can, put you on the highest mountain in the world, just to tear you down. That’s coming from somebody who has experienced it. And that’s exactly what she’s going through right now,” James told the Akron Beacon Journal. “That’s a fact. I know exactly how she feels because I was that athlete. I went through that.”
James is believed to be directly referring to ‘The Decision’, a live broadcast of his move from Cleveland to Miami in 2010, which received public outrage and turned the game’s brightest star into a full-blown villain.
After losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals the following year, the Ohio native bounced back to lead the Miami Heat to back-to-back NBA titles in 2012 and 2013. James described his ascension to “the mountaintop” and believes that Rousey could still do the same.
“You don’t know her mindset. You don’t know the drive, is the drive still there? You don’t know,” James added. “But you can tell that it’s built and built and built and built and built, they always make the teardown story more important than how long it took for her to actually get to the mountaintop.”
Meanwhile, another NBA great, Kobe Bryant, shared James’ feelings for Rousey and reminded everyone of her contribution to the sport, particularly for putting Women’s MMA in the mainstream.
“Instead of clapping for @RondaRousey defeat give her a standing O for putting the sport on the map,” the Black Mamba tweeted, along with the hashtags #pioneer and #muse.
Instead of clapping for @RondaRousey defeat give her a standing O for putting the sport on the map #pioneer #muse
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) December 31, 2016
Retirement talks have also been rampant after Rousey’s loss, and it still remains unclear if she’ll return to fighting anytime soon. Khristian Ibarrola
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