Mainstream sports media voices have spoken up strongly against Ronda Rousey in the wake of her defeat at UFC 207. In this week’s Trading Shots, MMAjunkie columnist Ben Fowlkes and retired UFC and WEC fighter Danny Downes discuss what to make of the sometimes questionable criticism. Fowlkes: As I’m sure you’re already aware, seeing as how you keep FS1 on at your house more or less constantly, Danny, these mainstream sports commentators have been struggling to sound like they know what they’re talking about when it comes to MMA. Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe drew the ire of some MMA types this past week when they called Ronda Rousey “ overrated ” while discussing her “armbar move or hold.” FOX Sports radio host Clay Travis called her a fraudulent “media creation” by the feminist liberal agenda. Still another FOX Sports commentator, Jason Whitlock, compared Rousey to Hillary Clinton , calling them both “media rig job(s).” On the other side, Salon’s Eileen G’Sell argued … well, I’m not sure what she was trying to say here , but her insistence that no sportswriter would ever refer to a losing male fighter as having been “battered” in “awful ways” just makes her seem like she’s read zero other sports writing on the topic. I have two questions for you.
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Trading Shots: What is it about Ronda Rousey that evokes the mainstream hot takes? – MMA Junkie