Ronda Rousey gets emotional revealing the reason she doesn't attend UFC fights (Video)

Former bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey hasn't attended a UFC event since she retired from the sport after back-to-back losses. The woman many credit as putting WMMA on the map, says her decision to stay in the shadows has to do with the way the MMA media has responded to her.

She claims the MMA media called her a "fraud", "exposed" and all "hype" after her losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. She also says the MMA media accused her of not being a good loser or "gracious" in her losses.

"Everything that was negative that could be said was said," Rousey said on a recent High Performace podcast. "I feel really vilified by the MMA media at this point and I'm not really welcomed back which is why I haven't gone to a UFC fight since because I'm pretty sure if I walked into the arena I would be booed."

Ronda Rousey needs to stop hiding and let fans fall in love with her again

Rousey isn't entirely wrong in her assessment. A lot of the things she says the media has written about her, they have. But her reluctance to appear at UFC fights is on her, not them. One of the biggest criticisms Rousey has received post-losses was her reaction to those moments. She never addressed the media, she never appeared in post-fight pressers, she literally hid behind a pillow and vanished. She has not taken accountability for what happened and her avoiding events is more of her hiding and taking the easy road.

MMA fighters at her level have been booed plenty of times, she's not special in that behavior. But the difference is they show up. They smile and wave even when the fans hate them because that's what you do. She's wrong that the media don't want her back - we do. That's what we have been saying for years.

"I guess I wish it didn't," Rousey said when asked why the media and fans' opinions bothered her. "I gave them everything I had and it wasn't enough. But that's why a lot of people don't give everything they have because they don't want to face if it wasn't enough."

It's hard to hear her talk this way and it's refreshing that she's finally getting back out there. We want her to come enjoy fights with her and I think she might be pleasantly surprised at the reception she gets from the fans and media if she does come back. She'll never know if she keeps hiding though.