So what if Ronda Rousey was willing to wait years to come forward about her track record with concussions? The Olympian Judoka remains the pioneer of WMMA. Even with said concussive blows, Ronda Rousey operated to the fullest and ducked none. That, in essence, is Daniel Cormier’s stance on the situation surrounding his fellow UFC Hall of Famer.

Rousey turned heads in March during the promotional media tour of her new memoir Our Fight. In a segment with YouTuber Valeria Lipovetsky, she divulged the saga of her concussion as a primary reason for her abrupt exit from MMA. Then-opponent Holly Holm and others took this as an excuse for her UFC 193 women’s bantamweight title loss. Rousey followed up and specified she was concussed before her fight with Holm. Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier has a unique take on the situation.

Only Ronda knows about the concussions, If she [was] having these types of concussions, …the only mistake she made, to me, is by saying it later… Because nobody knows if she had concussions. Daniel Cormier via MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze”

Unlike others, Rousey’s remarks didn’t rub off wrong on Daniel Cormier. At a stout 12-2-0 stat, ‘Rowdy’ was the first female combatant at UFC 157. The judoka also won bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics, gold at the 2007 Pan American Games, and silver at the 2007 World Judo Championships. Much like IJF Grand Slam/Grand Prix 135lber Kayla Harrison , she remains one of the best female talents in the sport.

She later even joined up with WWE, becoming the notorious RAW brand staple and Women’s Triple Crown Champion. ‘DC’ understands the Olympic-level judo – and entertainment wrestling grind have much rigor. Hence, he understands how difficult it is to partake in the sport. While Cormier cautions the news could have come sooner, he felt it’d be foolish to think Rousey was lying.

Daniel Cormier supports Ronda Rousey despite rest of combat sports community turning on her

Ronda Rousey has been an electric presence, to say the least. She has done it all, varying from a trailblazing UFC submission specialist to a WWE heel, from an actress to an author. She has a bigger impact on Women’s MMA than any other person.

People like Jimmy Smith or Holm have bashed her take on the trajectory so far and have remained propellants to the hate. However, it would be surprising if there weren’t windfalls or injuries from her long journey. Daniel Cormier postulates somewhat the same idea. Moreover, despite not being a proper washout, he defends her on the fan backlash she received during her last days at UFC.

I will also say this in defending Ronda: She’s always been one that people want to critique, …even if it was unjust. So when she lost to Holly, it was almost like the world celebrated….They felt like everything got given to her when, in reality, she was winning… She was beating people. And then for her to come back and lose to Amanda [Nunes; UFC 207] the way she did, everybody celebrated and said ‘to hell with Ronda, go and be gone.’ Daniel Cormier via MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze”

Cormier sympathizes when Rousey makes claims that she’d had harrowing issues over her life. People take it as an excuse. “You are as good as your last loss” is a statement that puts Rousey’s career into perspective. Rousey deserves a top-five spot in the conversation for the greatest WMMA fighters. However, two consecutive losses to end the career only made people discredit the former bantamweight champion rather than appreciate her.