Bellator champ Julia Budd on former foe Ronda Rousey: Nobody can take away from what she’s done

Last weekend, in the main event of Bellator 174, Canada’s Julia Budd became the first-ever women’s featherweight champion with a fourth-round TKO of the veteran Marloes Coenen. With this win, Budd extended her win-streak to an extremely impressive eight-straight.

Budd’s last loss occurred all the way back in 2011, when she became the fourth victim of Ronda Rousey‘s legendary professional MMA career. In more recent years, of course, Rousey’s career has endured a bit of a downward spiral, as she was first knocked senseless by a Holly Holm head-kick, then took more than a year off, only to return to the cage to be bludgeoned by reigning UFC bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes.

On Wednesday’s edition of BJ Penn Radio, Budd weighed in on the recent rough patch of her former foil. While the new Bellator champ admitted Rousey seems to have a tough time coping with losses, her main point was that Rousey’s incredible legacy remains intact.

“She’s incredible,” Budd said of Rousey. “The wins she’s had; nobody can take away from what she’s done. I think that it’s just been a rough patch, for sure. I mean, I don’t know her personally, but a lot of it I think is just about being able to move forward after losing. I think that was the piece that was really hard after the Holm fight. I don’t think she’s recovered from the Holm fight, and now there’s the Nunes fight as well. I think that maybe taking a bit of time away is a smart thing for her. But who am I, I don’t know what she’s going through or anything. It’s hard for me to speak on her, but again, nobody can take away from what she has done for the sport and how incredible some of her wins have been.”

What do you think of Julia Budd’s assessment of Ronda Rousey? Sound off, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/9/2017.