Ronda Rousey hung up on a UFC Conference Call due to a question from a reporter about the fighter’s relationship with UFC Heavyweight Travis Browne.
The media conference call featuring Rousey, Holly Holm, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Valerie Letourneau was held to promote UFC 193 on November 14th.
The question was from Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting. The question (around the 6:30 minute mark), which was in the first 7 minutes of the media call, Raimondi asked about Travis Browne’s recent announcement that they were in a relationship. The operator on the call indicated that Rousey’s line was disconnected and they would try to call her back. She did not return to the media call.
You may recall Browne is still married to his estranged wife. This past July, his wife, Jenna Renee Webb, claimed that she was the victim of domestic violence caused by Browne. He denied the allegations through his manager but was suspended by the UFC pending an investigation by the organization and was taken off of any scheduled appearances he was to make during International Fight Week. In late August, Browne was reinstated by the UFC.
Based on Browne still being married and the accusations by Webb, one might conclude that Rousey dating the fighter would be bad for her public image.
Payout Perspective:
Fair or unfair to ask the question? Browne did state publicly that they were in a relationship. But, Rousey has not made any public comments about their relationship. Since it is Rousey, her actions probably will be swept under the rug of her broad popularity. Yet, the question about the question is if it is fair to ask Rousey about personal matters such as who she is dating.
Certainly, since she is a public figure, many things become fair game including who you are dating. Moreover, Browne did make the statement publicly so there’s an actual reason for the question. While you might argue it’s not the right venue to ask the question, the media access to fighters is minimal especially when they are preparing for a fight. Thus, Raimondi saw an opening to ask and did what he thought was appropriate. Will there be blowback by the UFC PR team? Maybe. But realistically, it was not like he asked the question based on an MMA web site rumor or from talking to “inside sources.” Browne made the statement. We shall see how this will be handled by Rousey’s handlers and what kind of PR treatment this will be given.
She comes off as a bit of a brat.
hanging up is the perfect way to get attention, if she had politely asked to change the subject it probably would have gone unnoticed, the relationship will help bring attention to both ronda and travis to me this seems like a publicity move than anything else.