Sports Illustrated cover star Ronda Rousey has revealed that she thought about 'killing herself' shortly after her shock UFC bantamweight defeat to Holly Holm in November.

During an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, which is set to air on The Ellen Show later today, the 29-year-old admitted that she reached an all-time low after the brutal defeat that left her unconscious and saw her hospitalized.

'I was literally sitting there and thinking about killing myself and that exact second I’m like, ''I’m nothing, what do I do anymore and no one gives a s*** about me anymore without this,''' Ronda tells Ellen in a preview clip from the show, while fighting back tears.

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Comeback trail: Ronda Rousey talked about her tough loss to Holly Holm during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which is set to air later today

Candid conversation: Ronda opened up about feeling suicidal after her brutal loss in November to Holly

However the mixed martial arts fighter added that it was the thought of her future with boyfriend Travis Browne that kept her going, and gave her the strength she needed to carry on.

'To be honest I looked up and I saw my man Travis was standing up there and I looked up at him and I was like, I need to have his babies. I need to stay alive,' Ronda said as the studio audience applauded.

Ellen also asked Ronda if there was anything different about the bout before her loss, giving her an opportunity to address some critics' suggestions that she wasn't in good enough shape going into what she knew would be an incredibly tough fight.

'I think the one thing that was different was that it was my third title fight in nine months and I don't think anyone has ever attempted that before,' Ronda said.

The fighting champion insisted that she wasn't making excuses for the loss, but acknowledged that she 'felt tired' before the fight.

Ronda, who looked every inch the knockout in a short beige dress with a plunging neckline, also revealed that her first contact with Holly completely knocked her off her feet, leaving her struggling to regain any kind of dominance over her opponent.

See more of the latest on Ronda Rousey as she discusses defeat on Ellen DeGeneres show

Struggling: The 29-year-old admitted that she had 'felt' tired going into the fight against Holly, 34, which was her third title match-up in just nine months

Space issues: The fighter admitted that after her first exchange with Holly her teeth were loose and she was swinging blindly

'In that first hit I cut open my whole mouth and I knocked my teeth loose,' she explained.

The Olympic medal winner admitted that this first very physical exchange - and her subsequent injuries - meant she lost some sense of space for the remainder of the fight and couldn't always tell exactly how far Holly was from her.

'I knew she was out there, but like I really don’t remember most of it,' Ronda said, as she admitted to swinging blindly.

But, determined to see the fight through until the very end, she admitted that she tried to hide just how hurt she was in order to prevent being swarmed upon.

'So I was trying my best to kind of hide the fact that I wasn’t even there anymore,' she said.

Ronda's interview with Ellen is one of the first times that she has opened up about the devastating loss; in December, just one month after the fight, she explained to ESPN magazine that the defeat had made her 'really f***ing sad', while also admitting that her injuries meant she would be unable to return to the ring for up to six months.

'It might be three to six months before I can eat an apple, let alone take an impact,' she said at the time.

Cover girl: Ronda is one of three women to grace the cover of this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

But despite the agony of losing her title, and suffering such a public defeat to her arch rival, the athlete has not let it stop her from forging ahead with her career outside of the ring.

On Saturday night, Ronda was named as one of three women to appear on the cover of this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, for which she was photographed totally in the nude, wearing nothing but a body-paint swimsuit.

The news came just a few weeks after it was first revealed that Ronda would be appearing in the pages of the magazine for the second time, having starred in a saucy shoot in last year's issue.

Speaking about the risque photoshoot, which took place on an island in the Caribbean, Ronda noted that the magazine did let her know ahead of time that she would be naked, but added that she lept at the opportunity - particularly when she found out that she would have the chance to work with body paint artist Joanne Gair, the woman behind actress Demi Moore's iconic Vanity Fair cover, on which she wore a body-paint suit.

'They gave me the heads up, I didn't just show up and have them tell me: 'Guess, what you're naked,' they can't do that!' Ronda said of the cover shoot.

Feeling blue: Ronda stepped out on Sunday in a pretty blue dress with her hair in a high bun

Going strong: Travis Browne and Ronda were spotted out and about in Los Angeles

Dark moment: Ronda said her suicidal thoughts ceased when she saw Travis standing nearby

'I did Swimsuit the year before and of course I wanted to do it again, and they said that they were offering all of the athletes the chance to do body paint with Joanne Gair, who did that famous picture of Demi Moore body-painted in the suit. And she's brilliant, she's a master of her trade, and I thought it was a real honor to be her canvas for once.'

When asked about whether she felt at self-conscious about being naked in front of such a large crew of people, Ronda described the shoot as a 'lady party', prompting a cheeky aside from Ellen who simply said: 'Tell me about it,' with a grin.

However, while she might have felt comfortable for almost all of the shoot, Ronda admitted that there was at least one moment where she felt slightly more self-conscious.

'The only time I think I really felt self-conscious was like - because obviously they have to paint all of you - and there was one point when they were like, "OK, bend over!" and there's no not awkward way to do this so she's like filling in... It was really weird, it was kind of odd, but we were best friends by the time we got out of there!'