#lead writer

it has been a couple of days since Ronda went down in Melbourne, Australia. We've had a little bit of time to digest what happened at this point and to reflect on both the fight and the reaction to it. . I was surprised at the way fans reacted when Rousey lost. I expected Tate and Justino to have their say because of their history with Rousey. She has not exactly been nice to them over the years. And I expected Bethe Correia to say something crazy, and she did not disappoint, because that's what she does. . But the fan reaction took me by surprise, if we're being honest. I feel like this is one of those deals where MMA fans act like music hipsters who discover a band before they are famous, then turn on them once they achieve a bit of success. Rousey broke through walls that MMA has never even remotely come close to, pulling in fans who would never buy a fight otherwise. . The end result? Fans threw heaping piles of scorn on her even before she was awake enough to leave the Octagon under her own power. I don't get it. Maybe you can help explain? . I feel like there are two things that we need to keep in mind here. . 1. Rousey is an obvious promoter. The things she says are designed to make you love or hate her, as long as one of the two happens. She's trying to take your money, people, and she's been quite successful at it. The more she talked about how awesome she is and how she's NOT a #DNB and all that, the more women stood behind her and, more importantly for her, became invested in watching her fight. . Of course, on the flip side, the more she talks, the more MMA fans became disenchanted with her. It is a curious thing too; Conor McGregor has done the same thing, and he has legions of fans willing to say almost anything about their hero, no matter how farcical. But when Rousey does the same thing, she gets slammed. . Hmm. I wonder why that is? Could it have anything to do with the fact that she's a woman? (Of course it does.) . 2. Up until last Saturday night, Rousey talked the talk and was also quite successful at walking the walk. But the turn on Rousey started before the fight ever started; the loss just made things worse. . I'm not sure that "Well, she was a jerk to us, so we're going to be a jerk to her" is a good way of going about life. . Clearly I'm in the minority here, but if you watch the close-up video of her knocked out that popped up on YouTube—or the gross TMZ footage of her being stalked through the Los Angeles airport upon arriving home from Australia—and still feel the need to heap scorn upon a human being who has done so much for the sport you love, regardless of the mean things she's said about others... . Well, I don't know what to tell you.