MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 15: Holly Holm of the United States celebrates victory over Ronda Rousey of the United States in their UFC women’s bantamweight championship bout during the UFC 193 event at Etihad Stadium on November 15, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

The pain of losing can hit athletes that invest so much time in preparing and training in hard ways. Some athletes take losing harder than others. There may be no right or wrong way to handle losing, as much as the Cam Newton critics would have you believe, and certainly nobody is going to tell Ronda Rousey how she should handle a rare loss.

After losing her UFC title to Holly Holm last November, Rousey revealed she sunk so low to a point where she was having suicidal thoughts. The woman who beat her, Holly Holm, said that would never be the case for her after losing a match.

“For me, I would never get that low after a loss,” Holm said in an interview with MMA Junkie.

In the interview, Holm admits Rousey has had a bit more on her plate, given Rousey’s celebrity status drawing her to making appearances in film and on television on top of her MMA routine. That can build pressure to extraordinary levels and make the fall after a loss all that much harsher. But for Holm, she thinks she is level-headed enough to handle the fallout of a big loss.

“Maybe I’m a selfish person, but I just think I want to get back and win for me. It’s frustrating. You deal with a lot of doubt in your mind and maybe I’m not as good as I thought I was. Obviously those are the questions that go through your mind, but you have to be honest with yourself and think, ‘Maybe not. Obviously you need to get better because this fighter was better than you tonight.’”

Holm was mindful not to come off as critical of Rousey and her emotional status following their match. In fact, she went out of her way to make sure it was clear her comments were only meant to explain how she would personally handle the situation and not a suggestion for how anyone else, like Rousey, should be handling her emotions.

“I definitively don’t want to sit here and feel sorry, because I know for me, I have a competitive mind, and I’m confident Ronda is the same, that you don’t really want sympathy from the one that like created this. That almost makes it even more frustrating.

“I do hope that obviously she never really entertains that.”

Rousey is continuing to take some time off after losing her title in November. She had previously been ruled out for UFC 200 in July and has said she is enjoying her time away from fighting. That time off has included a gig hosting Saturday Night Live and posing for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She has also dressed up as a storm trooper to go see Star Wars as well as attending a Marine ball.

[Sports Illustrated]

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.