rousey-tarverdyanUFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has attributed a large amount of her success to her mother, Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, a judo champion in her own right and the sparring partner who would grapple with her daughter from a young age. Dr. De Mars laid the groundwork that eventually led to Rousey’s success in the Olympics where in 2008 she became the first American woman to medal.

Since Rousey made the transition to mixed martial arts she has looked unstoppable, and now, about four-and-a-half years into her professional career, her boxing (and knees) is looking fine-tuned, she’s packing some power and is starting to knock opponents out on the feet. Rousey’s boxing coach is Edmond Tarverdyan of Glendale Fighting Club in California and is the one credited with the evolution of the champ’s hands.

But as it turns out, Dr. De Mars is not a fan of Tarverdyan, and in a new interview with American Latino calls him a “bad person” and compares Ronda staying with him to a superstitious pitcher who won’t change their red underwear after pitching a no-hitter.

“I think Edmond is a terrible coach and I will say it publicly,” confessed Dr. De Mars. “I think he’s a terrible coach. I think he hit the lottery when Ronda walked in there. She was winning before she ever met him. She won probably 99% of the judo matches she ever fought in. She won the Junior World’s when she was 17. She got a bronze medal in the Olympics. She got a silver medal in the World Championships. She was one of the top athletes in the world when she walked in there and he wouldn’t even give her the time of day for months. Somebody like that is a terrible coach and I think she stays there because like somebody pitches a no-hitter when they’re wearing red underwear and they wear that red underwear for everyday, and I think it’s superstition and I would caution anybody from going there. And I think it’s bad that he uses her to lure people in. And the reason I tell everybody, and I tell Ronda, I’m not going to be quiet about this anymore. He’s a bad person and people should not go there. And if he wants to sue me, that’s my honest opinion.”

Listen to Ronda’s mom talk about her daughter’s head coach:

UPDATE: Watch more from Ronda’s mom on her dislike of Coach Edmond

Watch the real interview with Dr. AnnMaria De Mars where she talks about her work with educational video games and how her daughter has been a role model for her by breaking new ground in the world of mixed martial arts.

Could Ronda have improved her boxing the way she has somewhere else? That probably goes without saying. She may have even found a better technical coach, but there seems to be something about Edmond that works for Ronda and there’s something to be said for her loyalty to him. Finding the right teacher with a suitable personality type is not an easy task, and it’s hard to argue with results in this case.

But if Mom isn’t digging Ronda’s coach, what must she think of her new boyfriend? Dr. De Mars doesn’t seem like one to bite her tongue for long, so stay tuned on that one.

UPDATE: Watch more from Ronda’s mom on her dislike of Coach Edmond

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