Ronda Rousey says she sees through Holly Holm's 'fake sweet act' after volatile staredown
Ronda Rousey raced up to Holly Holm, got in her face and the two almost came to blows Friday at UFC 193 weigh-ins. In that split second of a near brawl, Rousey said she saw Holm's true colors.
"All I ever really notice about her is during the staredowns and during the weigh-in, she likes to have her hand on the outside," Rousey said on the FOX Sports 1 weigh-in show. "So I just wanted to place my hand on the outside. That was it. I could tell she got really frustrated and didn't like that and actually put her fist on my face. I didn't really think that was called for at all. All I wanted to do was have my hand on the outside and it was already frustrating her."
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Rousey, the undefeated UFC women's bantamweight champion, walked aggressively up to Holm, who was still drinking from a water bottle after weighing in. Rousey got very close, but Holm did not back down one bit. In fact, like Rousey said, she put her right fist on Rousey's jaw. UFC president Dana White had to separate the two women. Rousey barked at Holm as they were pulled apart.
"I just wanted to get in her face and show her that I was there for a reason," Rousey told Joe Rogan immediately afterward. "She's the one that put the fist on my face. I didn't touch her. She's the one that touched me and I told her that fake, sweet act -- I can see right through it. I really do. It was all fake. All until now. All that respect, all that everything, all you being sweet. I see right now that it's fake and you're gonna get it on Sunday.
"You're not the first person that thought that you had the perfect plan to beat me. It's not the first time that your camp thought they had the perfect plan to beat me. I'm gonna show you on Sunday why I'm the champ."
When Rogan asked Holm about the incident, she laughed it off.
"I don't know," she said. "I was just having a drink, you know?"
Holm, the heavy underdog, added: "Well, I'm here and that's right, I am here to shock the world. I know that I have my hands full with Ronda. I have all the respect for her in the world. She's done a hard job there, she's ran through everybody. But I'm a different fighter."
Rousey and Holm meet in the main event of UFC 193 on Saturday night (Sunday afternoon local time) at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. Rousey said she won't do anything differently despite this new-found animosity.
"I'm ready for every situation," Rousey said on FS1. "I've had more title fights than non-title fights and been in many more situations than Holly has been. I'm more prepared than she is for this and I'm gonna win on Sunday. And everyone is going to see.
"I just go out there and get the victory in the most efficient and fantastic way I can think of. I think that the career as a whole is what the goal is. Holly is just the next step."
Rousey posted a profanity-laced tirade on social media later: