Morning Report: Jimmy Smith goes off on Ronda Rousey: ‘She gets all the credit, none of the blame’

Ronda Rousey’s recent comments didn’t amuse Jimmy Smith.

Rousey, 37, has returned to the public eye recently because of her new book and not done so in the most flattering of ways if you ask the community. A full decade after Rousey’s first career loss, a second-round head kick from Holly Holm, the inaugural UFC women’s champion cited concussions as the primary reason for her downfall from the ranks of the unbeaten.

One fight later, Rousey dropped a 48-second KO to Amanda Nunes, leading to her retirement from the sport and starting a professional wrestling career in WWE. With that, former UFC commentator Jimmy Smith went along for the ride and hasn’t been impressed by the sentiments recently expressed by the “Rowdy” one.

“One of the things I’ve always said about God, he gets all the credit, none of the blame. That’s what Ronda Rousey wants,” Smith said on Unlocking the Cage. “All the credit none of the blame. I want credit for all my wins, my losses, I had CTE and all this and all that. I’m the greatest to ever do it. But when it didn’t work, it was so, and so, and so and so, and never me. She never gives credit to the people who actually beat her. The idea that I left MMA and went to the WWE because I had concussion problems makes no sense.”

Smith, 46, has been a more reserved voice throughout the community until parting ways with both UFC and WWE. For the former voice of Bellator, he couldn’t help but be deterred by the backstage comments about Rousey, which were less than pleasant from others’ experience.

At this stage, Rousey has made it clear she won’t be returning for any more MMA fights despite rumors circulating ahead of UFC 300.

“I don’t talk a lot out of school,” Smith said. “I don’t talk about things behind the scenes. Let me let ya in on something. Ronda, if you are listening, the people behind the scenes — camera people, audio people, people you can push around, people you can bully, and the people you can talk down to can’t stand your f****** ass. Everybody behind the scenes that had to put a mic on Ronda Rousey couldn’t stand her. I said, ‘Why?’ They said, ‘She was a b**** to us from the moment she sat down to the moment she got up. Like it’s our fault she has to do this interview to hype something or her next fight and she’s just miserable and she’s mean to us and we can’t stand her.

“They were cheering when she got knocked out. This is what I was told. Those are the people you can be mean to and rude to, and they can’t fight back. Those people couldn’t stand Ronda Rousey. So, don’t sit here and tell me you’re the victim. The poor guy behind the camera’s doing his job, is getting s*** on by you, or you’re mean to the person when we’re hyping your fight. Don’t give me this victim s***. Don’t waste my time with it.”

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LISTEN UP
On To the Next One. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alex K. Lee discuss the matches to make after UFC Vegas 91.

MORNING MUSIC

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
No words…

What’s the purpose of life if what we’re fighting tooth and nail to get away from is what finally hit us the hardest!?
Why is life so unfair and merciless?
Why does life always take what we don’t have? I’m fucking tired

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) April 29, 2024

It’s been a heavy few days, words can’t express the pain we all feel for the Ngannou family during this time. Please keep Francis and his family in your heart, and may this be a reminder of the fragility of life. Say “I love you,” more often, tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. ❤️ https://t.co/V6QVzbXKVi

— Eric Nicksick (@Eric_XCMMA) April 29, 2024

Focus.

Grind.

He’s a bad man.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Clay Collard (25-12) vs. Mads Burnell (18-6); PFL Salt Lake City, June 21

Impa Kasanganay (16-4) vs. Jakob Nedoh (8-2); PFL Salt Lake City, June 21

Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (25-13) vs. Bruno Miranda (16-5); PFL Salt Lake City, June 21

Rob Wilkinson (18-2) vs. Josh Silveira (13-2); PFL Salt Lake City, June 21

Dovlet Yagshimuradov (22-7-1) vs. Simon Biyong (9-4); PFL Salt Lake City, June 21

Antonio Carlos Jr. (16-5) vs. Alex Polizzi (10-4); PFL Salt Lake City, June 21

Brent Primus (13-3) vs. Solomon Renfro (11-5); PFL Salt Lake City, June 21

Sadibou Sy (16-8-2) vs. Tom Breese (18-5); PFL Salt Lake City, June 21

Gadzhi Rabadanov (21-4-2) vs. Elvin Espinoza (10-0); PFL Salt Lake City, June 21

Michael Dufort (13-4) vs. Adam Piccolotti (14-6); PFL Salt Lake City, June 21

Anthony Romero (12-2) vs. Sergio Cossio (26-9-1); PFL Salt Lake City, June 21

Laurynas Urbonavicius (12-2) vs. Karl Albrektsson (14-5); PFL Salt Lake City, June 21

Hiromas Ougikubo (26-8-2) vs. Makoto “Shinryu” Takahashi (17-2-1, 1 NC); Super RIZIN 3, July 28

FINAL THOUGHTS
When Jimmy is on, he’s on. No disagreements here.

Thanks for reading!

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