When Ronda Rousey finally resurfaced earlier this year following her stunning late-2015 title loss to Holly Holm, she told Ellen DeGeneres she still considers herself undefeated because, in her opinion, being undefeated is a state of mind.

It’s clear Rousey (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) clings to that belief as she approaches her return to the octagon, which comes against current women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes (13-4 MMA, 6-1 UFC) in Friday’s UFC 207 headliner.

Rousey has made only occasional public appearances since her brutal head-kick knockout loss to Holm at UFC 193 in November 2015. She’s been cornered by TMZ and made a few TV-show appearances, but not much more over the past 13 months.

“Rowdy” spoke briefly on the “Countdown to UFC 207” special that debuted Monday on FS1, though, and she gave slightly more insight into her mental state as she attempts to rebound from the first loss of her career and regain the title at UFC 207, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“Fighting is my life, and I need to do it again,” Rousey said. “After going through all of that, I have a much bigger point to make this time. … I have more experience (than Nunes) being under the most pressure possible, and the pressure’s different. I’m still the greatest fighter in the world.”

Rousey admitted life hasn’t necessarily been easy since she lost to Holm. She’s constantly been pestered to discuss one of the lowest moments of her athletic career, but the Olympic medalist largely remained out of the spotlight to deal with the loss on her own terms.

Although that may rub the outside world the wrong way, Rousey said it’s what she needed.

“I hear so many of the worst things anyone could ever even imagine to say about me every single day,” Rousey said. “Thousands of times people are trying to reach me and say these negative things. … People like to see people rise because they want to see people fall because they want to feel like they’re human like they are. That’s why we have this cycle of raise people up, and then we crash down.”

Rousey, No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA women’s bantamweight rankings, may not have accomplished what was her top goal of retiring from MMA as an undefeated champion, but she can still put herself back on top in one night.

She admitted to still not having moved completely past the loss, but she said she’s said plenty of support still exists and that’s one of her driving forces to take the belt back from Nunes.

“I’m still grieving the person that could have won it all,” Rousey said. “But I have to live up to the fact that I’m not her. That’s just who I’d like to be. And instead I’m what I need to be for myself and everyone else. You have to go through those stages of acceptance and renewed optimism.

“I’m coming back to win this title for the people that believed in me. Everything in my whole life that I’ve always worked for. Everything depends on it. Everything is at stake.”

For more on UFC 207, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.