Rousey’s mom not a fan of UFC champion’s coach

Ronda Rousey's original martial arts trainer made headlines Tuesday in a new interview questioning the credentials and character of the UFC star's current coach.

The fact the person making the claims is the fighter's mother made the story even more controversial.

Dr. AnnMaria DeMars, Rousey's mother and the first American to win a world championship in judo, said Edmond Tarverdyan "won the lottery" when her daughter decided to begin training at his gym in Glendale, Calif., not long after capturing a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympics.

Speaking to LatiNation, DeMars unloaded on Tarverdyan.

"I think Edmond is a terrible coach, and I will say it publicly," DeMars said. "I think he hit the lottery when Ronda walked in there. She was winning before she even met him."

DeMars, who was Rousey's first judo instructor, went on to recite a laundry list of her daughter's athletic accomplishments that occurred before she ever met her current coach.

"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," she said. "Somebody like that is a terrible coach."

Rousey has often spoke of her early days at the gym when Tarverdyan refused to work with what would eventually become his star pupil. At the time, women were not allowed to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Rousey prepared for her first amateur bout at the gym without much instruction from Tarverdyan.

As the story goes, he changed his mind after watching her compete for the first time.

DeMars feels Tarverdyan has now built a career off of her daughter's success.

"I would caution anybody from going there," she said. "I think it's bad he uses her to lure people in, and I told Ronda I'm not going to be quiet about this anymore."

Rousey is scheduled to defend her UFC title against Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 193 on Nov. 14 in Melbourne, Australia.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj