While Ronda Rousey appreciates that fans would love to see her fight in the UFC one last time, the legend claims she’s not ‘neurologically fit’ enough to compete at the top of the sport.
At the peak of her powers, ‘Rowdy’ was a terrifying competitor in the cage. Alas, it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing her again anytime soon.
Ronda Rousey explains why she will never fight in the UFC again
During her prime, Ronda Rousey was one of the most respected competitors on the planet.
Blessed with sublime judo, a terrifying armbar and a captivating personality, the American resonated with the public in a huge way, pioneering women’s MMA into a new era.
Alas, all good things have to come to an end. On November 15, 2015, the combat sports world stood still, as the former Olympian suffered a horrifying head kick knockout loss against Holly Holm in front of a raucous 56,214-strong crowd at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
The loss sucked the aura away from Rousey, who spent the following year out of the cage.
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When the fighter returned, she was a shadow of her former self, losing inside the very first minute of her contest against Amanda Nunes.
Over the years since, she’s flirted with the idea of a comeback. However, it now appears she’s come to terms with the fact that she’ll never grace the octagon again.
During an interview with the Insight podcast, she said: “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.”
Ronda Rousey struggled with concussions
During a recent media tour to promote her new autobiography, ‘Our Fight’, the former UFC champion explained that she’s suffered with concussions from her early years all the way through to her time in the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization.
However, even after retiring from the sport, she wanted to keep it a secret so not to ruin her career in the WWE.
She explained: “When I got into MMA, I had already had dozens of concussions that I trained through. Like, not even stopped for. So, that was about a decade of having concussion symptoms more often than not.
“So when I got into MMA, I was playing a game of zero errors. Then it got to the point where I was fighting more often than anybody. I had more outside-of-fighting responsibilities than anybody, and it just got to be lighter and lighter hits were hurting me more and more and more.
“I got to a point where I couldn’t take a jab without getting dazed, without getting concussion symptoms. It just got to a point where it wasn’t safe for me to fight anymore. I just couldn’t continue to fight at that higher level.”
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