Thunder Rosa recounts her training experience with current Bellator Champion Cris Cyborg.
Last week, Thunder Rosa visited Cris Cyborg’s training facility in Huntington Beach, California. It had been over nine months since Rosa trained in MMA. Her first and only pro MMA fight was in November of 2019 for Combate Americas.
Rosa recounted her experience training with the current Bellator MMA Women’s Featherweight Champion while speaking to Renee Paquette and Miesha Tate on SiriusXM. She stated that she and Cyborg had a short pro wrestling-style match. Rosa mentioned that she dove off octagon cage onto Cyborg multiple times.
So, it’s been a while since I’ve been wanting to go and train with her [Cris Cyborg]. Our timing is never good and this time, I was in L.A. because I was supposed to have interviews with agents and stuff and nothing fell through and she texted me the day before which was Monday night and I was trying to figure out what I was gonna do on Tuesday because I was gonna be there all day and she’s like, ‘You wanna come to my gym?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes!’ So, we planned it last minute and then I showed up there on Tuesday and then she’s like, ‘We have Muay Thai’ and like, bear in mind, I haven’t trained in MMA in over nine months because ever since I got signed, I don’t even have time to even breath, so, yeah. I went over there and her coach is super nice and super [thorough] with everything. Thankfully, I did not look like an idiot or I think I didn’t but, we trained for about an hour, hour-and-a-half and then I was like, ‘I wanna have a match with you’ and she’s like, ‘What?’ And then her husband was like, ‘Yeah, let’s have a little match’ so we have this really cool match, like a three minute match and I’m literally like jumping from — the first time I was like, ‘You’re gonna catch me on a crossbody’ and her husband was like, ‘Are you crazy?’ I was like, ‘No! I’m not’ and then I jumped from the cage on her and she catches me in a really weird way, she rolls back over then she grabs me again. We did the spot like, maybe like ten times because it was so much fun but yes, I was like, ‘What am I thinking?’ I forget that not everybody’s a pro wrestler. But, she had a lot of fun and then we’re like, talking wrestling jargon and she’s just like, ‘Yeah, you gotta sell!’ And her husband’s like, ‘Yeah, you have to sell’ and she’s like, ‘Sell?’ It was really, really fun and I can just — yeah, so it was really, really cool and just seeing her train live, it’s just like I was in awe. I’m gonna be totally honest, there’s been two times where I’ve been completely afraid. One, the first time that I [stepped] in the cage when they jumped me for me to like figure out what MMA was all about and when she was like, ‘Yeah, you wanna come train with me?’ I’m just like, ‘I’m going to probably die today. Yes.’ But it was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun.
In the semifinals of the TBS Championship tournament, Thunder Rosa fell in defeat to tournament winner Jade Cargill. Rosa expressed that Cargill has worked hard to get to where she is and now there’s a lot of weight on her shoulders as the first-ever TBS Champion.
Rosa went on to add that she expects to have a better match with Cargill the next time they share the ring together.
Well Jade [Cargill], she’s working really hard man. She — this is out of kayfabe — she works really hard and she really cares about what she’s doing and now that she’s the champion, there is a lot, a lot of weight on her shoulders and as a champion and as a first-ever champion of a company — well in this [case], on TBS, she has a lot to show, a lot and you know fans are gonna eat her alive if she’s not showing it. No matter if you look like an Amazon or whatever. I have a lot of full trust that she’s gonna do great and next time I see her in the ring, our match is gonna be way better and I’m gonna beat her ass even more, because I can’t wait. I love working with people that I, you know — I was this close. I would have been the champion now but you know, you know how it goes.
She shared in the past that she is working on a film, but Thunder Rosa added that she is also working on a music album. She said that she’ll begin releasing songs in the coming months.
Definitely, you guys are gonna see me in the next couple of months dropping an album. I’m dropping an album. I’m gonna start dropping a couple songs that I‘m gonna be working on the next couple of months. I’m working on my singing abilities.
During Cargill and Rosa’s TBS Title tournament semifinal match, the returning Mercedes Martinez ambushed Thunder Rosa and cost her the match.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Throwing Down with Renee & Miesha with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
