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Ronda Rousey reveals
Ronda Rousey is a trailblazer in women’s MMA, the first and former women’s bantamweight champion and Olympic Judoka. Recently, Ronda has revealed that her decision to retire from the UFC in 2016 was influenced by a history of concussions sustained during her judo career. Prior to her meteoric rise in the UFC, Rousey had already made waves in the world of combat sports, earning a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Ronda Rousey’s legacy
In an Instagram Live appearance aimed at promoting her upcoming memoir ‘Our Fight’, Ronda Rousey shed light on the factors that led to her departure from the bright lights of the UFC octagon. The loss of the title to Holly Holm followed by her disastrous challenge against Amanda Nunes rocked Ronda to her core and she had this to say about the end of her career:
‘I think that there was just so much to (that loss), that I couldn’t talk about it in the form of like an interview or an article or anything like that, or there would be several filters between my words and people reading it.
So much had to do with having so many concussions when I was in judo before I even got into MMA, I couldn’t talk about it at all when I was doing MMA because it would literally put a target on my head, and I might not have been allowed to compete any further.
See AlsoThe mystery of Ronda RouseySame thing with WWE. They have a complicated history with their performers getting concussions, and it would be a bad look on them. So I felt like I really couldn’t talk about it at all. So I feel like this long form (book) is the only way that I would be able to adequately address it.’
Ronda Rousey
She expressed a desire for fans to comprehend the motivations behind her retirement, emphasizing that it was not a decision she arrived at lightly. She also used her book as an opportunity to admonish the treatment of female wrestlers in the WWE, speaking the truth for those still trapped inside the company.
‘It’s hard sometimes to know where the evil, unethical, slimeball character of Vince McMahon played out for the cameras ends and the actual questionably ethical, many times sued, and multiple times accused of sexual misconduct Vince McMahon begins. That blurred line between character and reality is a recurring theme within the WWE Universe.’
Ronda Rousey
Despite being at the peak of her physical and technical prowess, Ronda Rousey found herself compelled to leave the sport she had dominated for years. The toll of concussions, accumulated over her judo and MMA career, ultimately dictated her departure from the UFC. Rousey claimed to have understood the game better than ever before her forced early retirement at the tender age of 29. The end of Ronda’s reign came at the hands of more well-rounded competition, and after her title run, the belt changed hands a number of times. Despite her fall from grace, she played a pivotal role in shaping the early landscape of women’s MMA in the UFC.
Retirement pains for Ronda Rousey
Addressing her struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts following her retirement, Rousey opened up about the challenges she faced in confronting her past traumas. She acknowledged criticism for her reluctance to discuss her losses to fighters like Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm but explained that her silence stemmed from a desire to shield herself from further scrutiny regarding her history of concussions.
Rousey’s revelation pulls back the curtain on the often-overlooked physical and mental toll that combat sports can exact on athletes. Her decision to prioritize her long-term health and well-being serves as a sobering reminder of the sacrifices athletes make in pursuit of greatness. Recently, she stated that she was not all there prior to UFC 193.
“I literally came into that fight concussed from slipping down some stairs already after all these years of concussions. Then I had an absolutely terrible weight cut, which means you have less fluid in your brain to protect it… I was just trying to make it look like I wasn’t hurt, but I wasn’t there cognitively. I couldn’t think as fast. I couldn’t judge distance, and just from that one fight, everybody felt like ‘oh, she’s a fraud’.”
Ronda Rousey about her match with Holly Holm at UFC 193
Despite bidding a premature farewell to the UFC, Ronda Rousey’s impact on the sport continues to reverberate. Her contributions to elevating the status of female fighters within the UFC are undeniable, paving the way for a new generation of women to carve out their own legacies in the octagon. While mixed martial artists have not until recently attained vast wealth, Ronda ranked as the #8th highest paid female athlete according to Forbes.
Since her retirement from MMA, Ronda Rousey has embarked on many new ventures, including a successful stint in WWE despite those soured grapes, as well as forays into film and television. While her days of competing in the octagon may be behind her, Rousey’s influence on the world of combat sports ensures that her legacy will endure for years to come.
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