Ronda Rousey says heartbreak, Paul Walker tragedy to blame for TUF 18 Finale tension

While Ronda Rousey was heavily criticized for her off-putting interview at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale this past month, the UFC women’s bantamweight champion had a lot more going on that day than people seem to realize.

When cameras on the Nov. 30 broadcast cut to a cageside interview with Rousey (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and her UFC 168 opponent, Miesha Tate (13-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC), conducted by UFC commentator Jon Anik, it was immediately clear the champion would have preferred to be elsewhere.

Throughout the three-minute interview, Rousey gave short, blunt answers and simply dazed off into the audience while Tate was speaking.

Some viewers lashed out at Rousey and called the typically charismatic 26-year-old unprofessional for her approach to the interview. And while it was believed the personal friction between Rousey and Tate was the genesis of it, the former Olympian said that wasn’t it at all.

“The whole day I was just being instigated by everybody and I was tired of being instigated,” Rousey told MMAjunkie. “I was being forced into situations where people were trying to instigate me.”

Rousey has not fought since February, and during that time she has crossed over into the acting realm for breakthrough roles in “The Expendables 3” and “Fast & Furious 7.”

Sadly, news of popular actor Paul Walker’s unforeseen death came to light the day of The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale, and after having worked with him on “Fast & The Furious,” Rousey says people were continuously approaching her at the event in hopes of fishing a reaction to the devastating news.

“I just got back from ‘Fast and Furious’ and all day, every single person who walked up to me was like ‘Oh my god, did you hear? Paul Walker died,’” Rousey recalled. “It was like a piece of gossip and they couldn’t wait. They were hoping they would be the first one to tell me so they could see my reaction first, and I was just really disgusted with everyone’s behavior about that the whole night.”

Beyond her disgust for the carelessness of others, Rousey was heavily invested in the action going on inside the octagon that night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Four members of Team Rousey on “The Ultimate Fighter 18” competed on the main card, with just one of them coming out victorious.

Rousey knew how important a victory would have been for everyone, so even before the interview and the multiple questions of Walker’s passing, she was on edge.

“I’m happy for Jessamyn (Duke), but Peggy (Morgan) lost, and I was heartbroken for her, then I saw Davey (Grant) and Jessica (Rakoczy), lose and I was heartbroken for them, too,” Rousey said.

The memorable interview with Rousey, Tate and Anik has been analyzed on many different levels, and some feel being around her next opponent so close to the fight affected Rousey’s attitude. Rousey firmly discredits that notion and claims her actions had nothing to do with Tate, but were purely due to the combination of her students losing and the disrespect shown toward Walker’s death.

“That’s what was bugging me the most,” Rousey said. “Was what my kids were going through and how just insensitively people were treating the tragedy and what happened to Paul and his family.”

For more on the UFC 168, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.