Ronda Rousey isn’t saying much publicly leading up to her comeback fight against Amanda Nunes on Friday.
But former judo training partner Kayla Harrison is.
“No one does underdog better than Ronda Rousey,” Harrison said, according to FoxSports.com. “It’s been a while since we’ve been teammates and roommates, so I don’t know how she’s changed as a fighter or her mentality, but I can tell you that in the old days if Ronda suffered a loss, she came back with a vengeance.”
Rousey is fighting for the first time since her first MMA loss, a shocking upset at the hands of Holly Holm on Nov. 15, 2015, in Melbourne, Australia.
In 2008, Rousey became the first U.S. Olympic women’s judo medalist, taking bronze in Beijing at age 21. Harrison was a Rousey training partner leading into those Olympics.
“I had that age advantage, even though [Harrison] was heavier,” Rousey, who fought in Olympic judo one weight class lighter than Harrison (about 17 pounds), said last year. “I always beat her.”
Harrison also accompanied Rousey to those Beijing Games. Rousey suffered a quarterfinal defeat yet stormed back for bronze with three straight repechage wins later that day.
After Rousey gave up judo, Harrison went on to become the first U.S. Olympic judo champion at London 2012. Harrison then repeated in Rio and then signed a contract with World Series of Fighting, but she isn’t yet confirmed to fight.
Harrison’s commentating debut will be at WSOF 34 in New York on Saturday on NBC.