UFC star Ronda Rousey has explained the circumstances of her awkward behavior during an interview on “The Ultimate Fighter 18” finale.

During the Nov. 30 broadcast of the “TUF 18” finale, Rousey appeared alongside fellow fighter and coach Miesha Tate to discuss that night’s bout between their two pupils, as well as their scheduled fight against each other at the UFC 168 event. Throughout the interview, the women’s bantamweight champion seemed distracted, giving short answers and repeatedly looking away from the camera.

“Ultimate Fighter” viewers lashed out at Rousey; they accused her of acting in an unprofessional manner and of disrespecting UFC announcer Jon Anik. Initially, fans believed that Rousey’s strange behavior was the result of her feud with Tate. But in an interview with MMAJunkie, the 26-year-old revealed something else entirely.

“The whole day I was just being instigated by everybody and I was tired of being instigated,” Rousey told MMAJunkie. “I was being forced into situations where people were trying to instigate me.”

Rousey had taken some time away from the UFC to film a role in “Fast & Furious 7,” and worked with Paul Walker before his fatal accident. She told MMAJunkie that her behavior was partly due to the barrage of questions she fielded about her fallen co-star.

“I just got back from ‘Fast and Furious,’ and all day, every single person who walked up to me was like ‘Oh my god, did you hear? Paul Walker died,’” Rousey said. “It was like a piece of gossip and they couldn’t wait. They were hoping they would be the first one to tell me so they could see my reaction first, and I was just really disgusted with everyone’s behavior about that the whole night.”

In essence, the UFC star was more focused on her students’ exploits and the disrespect shown in the aftermath of Walker’s death than how her behavior would be received by the public.

[h/t For The Win]

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