Rex/REX USA; InstagramUPDATE: Ronda Rousey confirmed her courtship with Travis Browne in a statement to ESPN Monday, saying, "I don't talk about my personal life much. That's why it's called 'personal life.' It's true that Travis and I are in a relationship. I've really enjoyed the time we have spent together and getting to know one another. And that's all I'm going to say about it."
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Looks like it's official: Ronda Rousey is off the market.
Rumors have been swirling for quite some time that the bantamweight champion is dating Travis Browne, and now the UFC heavyweight contender finally confirmed it's true…but just don't call it "dating."
"Dating is for children; dating is for kids," Browne told The MMA Hour on Monday. "Ronda and I started talking throughout the summer, and I'll say now that we are together."
He continues, "She's my woman, and I'm her man. There's no boyfriend-girlfriend stuff. There's no dating. We're together."
The two met when they became teammates at the Glendale Fighting Club in Los Angeles two years ago but only recently started exploring their deeper connection.
"It's not weird. It's not something we have to adjust to," he explains. "We've been doing that the entire time that I was here. She was doing her camps, I was doing mine without that thought process going through our head."
He continues, "Not once did we ever think about this. It wasn't even a thought that went through our heads at all. So I've gotten to know her through the gym, through all that kind of stuff. I see her for who she is. The fact that she's out there winning ESPYS and the star she is on the movie screen and all that kind of stuff, that's all great. But that's not who I know her as, if that makes sense."
Rather, Browne says he got to know her on a much more personal level. "I know her as one of the hardest working athletes that I've ever seen, in this gym busting her butt on a daily basis," he adds. "And through our own personal experiences of how compassionate and really how much of a sweetheart she really is. That's what a lot of people don't see out of her. They see that, but they don't really get to experience that."
Thus, he says her massive stardom doesn't cause concern for him at all. "She's a huge star and that's great for her and I'm happy for her. I want nothing to do but support that aspect in her life."