Ronda Rousey says she will return to fight Holly Holm again.
“I need to come back. I need to beat this chick,” Rousey told ESPN the Magazine in the first comments she’s made following her stunning second-round knockout loss in Australia on Nov. 14.
When she’ll fight Holm is unclear.
Holm’s manager, Lenny Fresquez, told The Times on Tuesday that he met with UFC officials Monday and received a proposal for a fight expected to be July 9 at UFC 200 at the new Las Vegas arena.
“I’m not sure Ronda will be ready for a July fight,” Fresquez said. “She took a severe beating, and I don’t think it’s in her best interest to take the next fight so fast. They told me she’s been ready and cleared, but … ”
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Venice’s Rousey told ESPN she was “out on my feet from the very beginning,” after sustaining a cut lip on a first-round punch from Holm that also knocked some of her teeth loose. The injury still has her hesitant to try to eat anything like an apple.
“I wasn’t thinking clearly,” Rousey told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. “I had that huge cut in my mouth, and I just spit [the blood] out at my feet. Then they brought the bucket over, and I’m like, ‘Why didn’t I spit it in the bucket?’ I never spit on the ground.
“It was like a dumbed-down, dreamy version of yourself making decisions. ... I was just trying to shake myself out of it. I kept saying to myself, ‘You’re OK, keep fighting. You’re OK, keep fighting.’
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“I just feel so embarrassed. How I fought after that is such an embarrassing representation of myself. I wasn’t even … there.”
A rematch between the 28-year-old Rousey (12-1) and New Mexico’s Holm (10-0) likely would become the UFC’s richest pay-per-view event.
“I guess it’s all going to be determined by what happens in the rematch,” Rousey told ESPN. “Everything is going to be determined by that. Either I’ll win and keep going, or I won’t and I’ll be done with everything.”
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Fresquez said he’d like Holm to defend her belt in the interim against top-ranked contender Miesha Tate.
“Holly’s used to staying active,” Fresquez said. “We’re from the old school, and we believe the No. 1 contender is there for a reason. … [Tate] deserves a shot, but it’s not for me to decide.”
Fresquez said at his Monday meeting that UFC officials told him there are no immediately open dates for Holm’s first title defense between now and July, although the manager said Holm could fight as soon as February.
Fresquez said he will present the UFC proposal to Holm and her team later Tuesday and they’ll come to a decision.
“Holly’s not so much about the money as [much as thinking] she wants to fight,” Fresquez said.
“We’d like to fight Miesha. We understand there are risks, but Holly’s a dominant champion, and she wants to fight the best. Right now, Miesha is the best.”
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Holly Holm celebrates her victory over Ronda Rousey in their women’s bantamweight championship bout at UFC 193 event in Melbourne, Australia.
(Quinn Rooney / Getty Images)
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Holly Holm, right, lands a kick to the neck to knock out Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 15, 2015. (Paul Crock / AFP/Getty Images)
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Ronda Rousey, left, goes down after being knocked out by a kick to the neck from Holly Holm at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
(Paul Crock / AFP/Getty Images)
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Ronda Rousey hits the canvas after being knocked out by Holly Holm.
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Ronda Rousey receives medical treatment after being knocked out by Holly Holm.
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Holly Holm, right, is declared the bantamweight champion after defeating Ronda Rousey at UFC 193.
(Andy Brownbill / Associated Press)
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Holly Holm wears the women’s bantamweight belt she won from Ronda Rousey during UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Holly Holm punches Ronda Rousey during their championship bout at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia. UFC leadership says Holm’s next fight will be a rematch with Rousey. Holm’s camp wanted a fight against Miesha Tate while Rousey recovered from her first fight against Holm.
(Quinn Rooney / Getty Images)
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Holly Holm, right, demonstrated all her skill and athleticism at UFC 193 with a second-round knockout of Ronda Rousey.
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Holly Holm, right, fights Ronda Rousey for the women’s bantamweight belt at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
(Joe Catro / EPA)
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Holly Holm, left, defeated Ronda Rousey by second-round knockout in UFC 193 in Australia to claim the women’s bantamweight title.
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Holly Holm, left, pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history by defeating Ronda Rousey in November 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Quinn Rooney / Getty Images)
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Holly Holm, top, upset Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Ronda Rousey, center, appears focused as she walks toward the octagon for her UFC bantamweight title fight against Holly Holm.
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Joanna Jedrzejcyk, left, punches Valerie Letourneau during UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
(Andy Brownbill / Associated Press)
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Joanna Jedrzejczyk, right, defeated Valerie Letourneau by unanimous decision at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia on Nov. 14, 2015. (Quinn Rooney / Getty Images)
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Mark Hunt, right, defeated Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Robert Whittaker, right, defeated Uriah Hall by unanimous decision at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Jared Rosholt, top, defeated Stefan Struve by unanimous decision during UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Jared Rosholt, right, and Stefan Struve compete at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Jake Matthews holds down Akbar Arreola during UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Akbarh Arreola looks on after his UFC 193 bout against Jake Matthews was stopped after the second round because of the swelling near Arreola’s eye.
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Jake Matthews celebrates his victory over Akbarh Arreola at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Kyle Noke, left, kicks Peter Sobotta on his way to a first-round technical knockout at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Gian Villante, right, punches Anthony Perosh on his way to a first-round technical knockout at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Danny Martinez defeated Richie Vaculik by unanimous decision at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Danny Martinez holds down Richie Vaculik at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Steve Montgomery, left, takes a hit during a loss to Dan Kelly at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Dan Kelly punches Steve Montgomery during their middleweight bout at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Dan Kelly, right, used a late rally to beat Steve Montgomery at UFC 193 event in Melbourne, Australia.
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James Moontasri, right, kicks Anton Zafir during their welterweight bout at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Ben Nguyen celebrates after defeating Ryan Benoit during their UFC 193 flyweight fight in Melbourne, Australia.
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Ben Nguyen, left, defeated Ryan Benoit by first-round submission during their UFC 193 fight in Melbourne, Australia.
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Richard Walsh, right, defeated Steven Kennedy by unanimous decision at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Rousey, meanwhile, told ESPN she slept the entire flight home from Australia while on painkillers, then drove to a Texas ranch the next day with her boyfriend, UFC heavyweight Travis Browne, for a vacation.
“I always say you have to be willing to get your heart broken,” Rousey said of her career, which had been so dominant before the upset. “That’s just what … happens when you try.”
Rousey said she intends to keep her trainer, Glendale’s Edmond Tarverdyan, despite his push to fight the former world-champion boxer Holm.
She said she knew what was being said about her following the defeat: “That I’m a … failure and I deserve everything that I got.”
But when asked whether she’ll return to the octagon, she responded, “What else am I going to do?”
