LEBRON James says he knows what Ronda Rousey is going through.
Rousey's comeback ended after only 48 seconds in the octagon when the former UFC champion was knocked out by titleholder Amanda Nunes. Rousey’s second straight loss could be the end to an MMA career that began with 12 bouts undefeated.
“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,” said the four-time NBA MVP on Saturday (Sunday, Manila time) in an interview with the Akron Beacon Journal.
“That’s a fact. I know exactly how she feels because I was that athlete. I went through that,” said James who compared Rousey’s fall from grace to the time he left the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team that drafted him, to play for the Miami Heat where he was vilified in his first season in Florida.
James would bounce back and would win three NBA championships in five straight finals appearances.
Can Rousey bounce back in similar fashion?
“You don’t know her mindset. You don’t know the drive, is the drive still there? You don’t know,” said James. “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 said he did not watch Rousey's fight on Friday. He attended a birthday dinner with teammates and did see some of the undercard matches of UFC 207.