Ronda Rousey Won’t Return To The UFC – ‘I Just Can’t, Neurological Injuries’

Ronda Rousey has said she will not return to the UFC. 

Rousey made her name in the UFC, winning the UFC Bantamweight Belt. She had the privilege of defending the title six times. This was the record before Valentina Shevchenko surpassed that. Rousey paved the way for Shevchenko and those alike by being the first woman to fight in the UFC. She would leave the promotion on a poor run of form.

Holly Holm stopped her in 2015 at UFC 193. Rousey was then knocked out at UFC 207 in 2016 by Amanda Nunes. The ex-UFC fighter then decided to join WWE. She left WWE last year, as he released her memoir ‘Our Fight.’ The book detailed her struggles with concussions, which Rousey felt had a bearing on her losses. Brendan Schaub accused Rousey of making excuses rather than giving her opponents credit for winning. 

Rousey Reacts

Ronda was consistently linked with a UFC return, with question marks over a UFC 300 appearance. Dana White made it clear that Rousey would not return, while the fighter has been focusing on motherhood post her fighting career. Even if she wanted to return, Rousey was clear that she was not able to compete at the highest level. 

“Every couple years … the same rumor comes out. It’s nice to feel missed, I guess. But it’s not happening. I’m not neurologically fit to compete anymore at the highest level. I just can’t. You just get to a level where the neurological injuries you take accumulate over time. They don’t get better,” Rousey said

There are also other reasons why a Rousey return does not make sense. She hit out at the UFC media for changing their attitude towards her once she lost. The perception was that Rousey was no longer respected once she was not the leading name. She has also stated that she would be booed if he appeared in the audience at a UFC event.

Rousey On Cyborg

Her antics have also riled up former UFC fighters, with Cris Cyborg mocking her record after Rousey called out her prior failed steroid test. Rousey revealed that she regretted taking the Nunes fight as, in hindsight, she should have walked away after the Holm defeat. But her desire to walk away with a win led her to fight, something which she regrets looking back. 

“It was really tough and I think that’s why I took that first loss so hard, because I knew it was over. I knew I’d reached that limit. I was in denial about it and I tried to come back again with a lot of rest and a better weight cut, not doing the extra stuff, the extra press, and just coming in and fighting.

“If I could just cut to that moment when they say go and I fight, I…love that so much. Nothing makes more sense in the world. There’s not a single thing that happens that I don’t understand or that I don’t know what to do,” Rousey stated 

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