In the aftermath of Amanda Nunes' 48-second beatdown of Ronda Rousey at UFC 207 on Friday, trolling memes were circulated as social media had a field day due to the swiftness and decisiveness of the fight. The loss may have signaled the end of Rousey's career. While she may be at an extreme low point, the former champion still has her fair share of supporters.
LeBron James is one of those supporters, telling Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, that he can empathize with Rousey because was once in a similar position:
"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 Beacon Journal on Saturday. "That's a fact. I know exactly how she feels because I was that athlete. I went through that."
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"You don't know her mindset. You don't know the drive, is the drive still there? You don't know," James said. "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."
James is referring to "The Decision," his infamous move from Cleveland to Miami, which sparked outrage and made LeBron into the league's No. 1 villain and subject of countless ridicule. This all reached a fever point after James and the Heat lost to Mavs in the 2011 NBA Finals. But James changed the narrative surrounding him by getting back to the NBA Finals three times with the Heat, winning twice and then returning to Cleveland, where he led the Cavs to the franchise's first championship last June. Now James is back on top of "the mountaintop" as it is basically impossible to question his greatness.
LeBron's feelings about Rousey are shared by former Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba believes that Rousey should be hailed and praised for all that she has done for MMA and not be criticized.
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
Like LeBron, Bryant had to deal with his fair share of critics and detractors throughout his future Hall-of-Fame career. Just like James, Bryant suffered multiple NBA Finals losses and had a few low points in his career. Yet his drive and focus allowed him to continue be successful and now, Bryant is viewed as one of the greatest players to ever play.
Could the same happen to Rousey? As James and Bryant have shown, that is up to her to decide.
