Kobe offered advice to Rousey after loss: 'We all get beat at some point'

Ronda Rousey had her fair share of detractors following her devastating loss to Holly Holm last November, with many jumping at the chance to criticize the former UFC Bantamweight Champion for her lack of humility and sportsmanship before the fight.

NBA superstar Kobe Bryant is no stranger to criticism himself, and revealed that he contacted Rousey after the loss to offer her advice on how to deal with adversity.

"I sent her several messages, so yes, we have touched base," Bryant said, according to Mike Bohn of USA TODAY Sports. "That's what it's about. It's not about how you win. A true champion is about how you lose and come back from that.

"I think the true mark of a champion is how you get up from that," Bryant added. "If she goes through her entire career undefeated, she becomes this mythical figure that nobody can relate to. She got beat. We all get beat at some point or another in our lives. Now it's a matter of how she bounces back from that. I think that's what makes her a true champion."

Rousey's high-profile loss appeared to take its toll, as she shunned the media in the months following the fight. However, Bryant said he told Rousey that it's the response to defeat that defines a true champion.

"I told her, 'It's a beautiful thing.' That's what I told her. I said, 'To be a true champion sometimes you have to get knocked down.' It happens to the best of us. It happened with my Achilles (when I tore it), (Muhammad) Ali got put down several times - it happens to the best of us."

Rousey is back in training for her eventual return to the Octagon, which is expected to be before the end of the year, with her opponent likely to be the winner of Holm's fight against Miesha Tate.