Ronda Rousey insists she’s only helping Kayla Harrison.
Harrison took umbrage with Rousey claiming that her comeback fight against Gina Carano on May 16 is the biggest in women’s MMA. She called her irrelevant, which prompted Rousey to fire back.
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Rousey and Harrison are both judoka Olympians – with Rousey winning bronze in 2008 and Harrison winning gold in 2012 and 2016. They competed against each other in two judo matches prior to the Olympics, with the much older Rousey winning both.
“Me and Kayla have a kind of complicated relationship in that she came to live in the same house I was and train with us,” Rousey said on her YouTube channel. “She had been sexually abused by her coach for most of her life, starting at 8 to when it came out, and she was like 17. So she comes out (to live with us), and she’s just been failed by every single adult in her life and been severely traumatized by some real f*cked up sh*t.
“So when she moved into the house, she was going through a straight-up mental health crisis. And I don’t think anything that went down then ever deserves to be under public scrutiny. But when she was going through it, I unwillingly was going through it with her. So I wish her the absolute best in life and all of the success and all the things over there. I wish her the best. I just don’t want to be involved.”
Rousey has taken several shots at the UFC but explained why her upcoming fight against Carano, which streams on Netflix, is pivotal for Harrison and the women’s MMA scene.
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“She’s coming and talking sh*t about me and Gina,” Rousey said. “I’m like, ‘Dude, we’re doing nothing but help you. We’ve done nothing but help you.’ I literally have, like, a vested interest in developing the heavier divisions. She says she can’t make weight in her division anymore. It’s taken years off of her life, all this stuff. Help me help you. Who do you think would promote you at 145? F*cking me. Who do you think would help you get paid? F*cking me. Who do you think is helping you get paid more in the UFC now because you have someone to give you a competing offer?
“I’m trying to feed you. Stop biting my f*cking hand. I’m trying to help you out, man. But she’s kind of like my brat little sister in a way where I’m just like, ‘Don’t come for me, OK? Momma’s working.’ I’m going to have to give you a learning if you’re going to want to f*cking start some sh*t. Dude, you’re not the biggest fight (for me). Gina’s the biggest fight. It also benefits (Harrison), all of this. Now she’s got a higher profile than she’s ever had. You’re welcome. Go figure out how to do something with it.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ronda Rousey says Kayla Harrison like ‘brat little sister’
