Three-time Olympic judo medallist Edith Bosch has revealed that UFC superstar Ronda Rousey has always been a rowdy competitor and used to disrupt weigh-ins when she was plying her trade on the judo circuit.
Dutchwoman Bosch is the last person to defeat Rousey in a competitive fight having ended the current UFC women's bantamweight champion's dreams of winning Olympic gold in Beijing back in 2008, beating her in the quarter-finals.
The 28-year-old has gone on to become one of the biggest draws in MMA, and while Bosch, 35, has ruled out joining Rousey in the Octagon, her competitive spirit is still most certainly apparent, per MMAJunkie (via USA Today's Martin Rogers:
"I thought about it a couple of times. Of course you are wondering what would happen if I picked up MMA as well and we were in a cage and really got it on. I would really love to punch her, though."
Rogers reported that Bosch is "impressed" with Rousey's progress in MMA and the UFC. For any potential opponent of Rousey looking for tips on how to beat her, Bosch indicated the need to be completely ruthless:
My attitude and my mindset was, "You are in my way, I am going to kill you, because I want to get a medal." Everything starts with the weigh in. Everybody is always silent and quiet because a lot of people have to lose weight. When she got into the weigh-in room she was … talking loud and all busy, and wearing pajamas. I always looked at her and I wondered, "Okay, for her (the fight) already starts here." On the mat she is a b---h. But you have to be. I was too. We didn’t talk.
The full interview with Bosch can be seen below:
Rousey is putting her title on the line again on Nov. 14 against Holly Holm at UFC 193 at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
Rousey is, unsurprisingly, the heavy favourite to prevail and take her professional record to 13-0. Her last three fights have all been stopped inside 35 seconds.
Holm will be eager to put up a much greater challenge in Melbourne, and she will perhaps take inspiration from Bosch that Rousey can be beaten.
The 34-year-old is more than aware that she is the underdog, but that has not dented her belief that she can turn the tables on the sport's biggest star, per UFC 193:
"There are upsets in sports for a reason; someone came in & believed they could do it" @_HollyHolm #UFC193 pic.twitter.com/dgRhTcz9Tq
— #UFC193 (@ufc) November 8, 2015
When Bosch beat Rousey seven years ago it was hardly front-page news. But if Holm repeats the trick it will be one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.
