Ronda Rousey believes things would have turned out differently in the UFC had she not been dealing with a lifetime’s worth of concussions.
Rousey is one of the most influential figures in mixed martial arts history, paving the way for women to break into the sport and becoming one of Dana White’s biggest draws in a relatively short period of time. Unfortunately, the only thing faster than her rise to the top was her fall.
After dispatching her first 12 opponents with a 100% finish rate, Rousey hit a brick wall named Holly Holm at UFC 193. A year later, she would suffer a 48-second knockout against Amanda Nunes bringing an end to her run in the Octagon.
Following the release of her latest book, Our Fight: A Memoir, Rousey has been more vocal about her history with concussions and how they played a role in her loss against ‘The Preacher’s Daughter.’ During a recent interview with Shakiel Mahjouri, Rousey revealed that her first concussion came when she was just six years old, and over the years, she sustained many more while competing in swimming and judo.
“If the concussions weren’t an issue, things would’ve happened completely differently,” Rousey told CBS Sports. “Accumulative neurological injury is something people don’t talk about in MMA. It’s something that everybody is dealing with at a different pace. I started dealing with it at six years old. I started getting concussions much earlier on in swimming. Two kids doing a backstroke in the other direction crack heads or hit the wall doing the backstroke.
“I started doing judo at a young age and kept getting concussions regularly and multiple times a year and not being allowed to speak up or say anything about it. As a fighter, you’re not supposed to show any weakness or talk about things like that or the inevitable neurological decline that comes with taking headshots. A lot of people talk about it as if it’s making excuses or weakness.”
A true champion and pioneer 🏆
📝 What is your favorite moment of @RondaRousey's career? #UFCEra pic.twitter.com/5O6qB6DHop
— UFC (@ufc) May 18, 2020
In July 2018, Rousey was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Since then, she’s largely distanced herself from the sport while using her star power to carve out a respectable run in the world of sports entertainment.
Looking back on her back-to-back losses, ‘Rowdy’ knew she could no longer stick around in the sport she made her name in, even if she wanted to.
“I have a whole list for my life to think about, and you’ll never know when you take one hit too many until many decades later,” Rousey said. “But, I also don’t think I would be serving the sport or the division the right way if I stuck around too long. I got to a point where I knew that I literally could not be taking those head impacts and continue to compete at that same level.
“It doesn’t do the sport any favor. It’s a bad look on women’s MMA in general. I am the representative of that sport.”
Ronda Rousey Comments on Dana White’s Claim That Her Evolution Was Stunted by Her Status
Earlier this year, Dana White suggested that Rousey’s downfall came due to a lack of evolution. More specifically, the UFC CEO believes that while ‘Rowdy’ was busy being the face that runs the place, others were training and evolving to snatch her spot at the top.
“Ronda Rousey came in and put women fighting on the world stage at a level that nobody else could’ve ever done it. While she was doing what she was doing, building the sport and UFC and women, all of these other women were training to beat her.” – @danawhite pic.twitter.com/yeiP27QV7r
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) June 29, 2024
Reacting to White’s comments, Rousey appeared to agree but holds no regrets over her decision.
“I had to promote as hard as I trained,” Rousey said upon hearing White’s comments. “That’s why we got as far as we are today. I didn’t just make it about me and my performances and picking and choosing my fights about when it would work the best for me. That’s why we were so successful. That’s why the sport had never been hotter, and it was because of that work.
“I promised Dana that that’s what I would do if he believed in me and he invested in me and brought me into the company. I felt like if I did anything less, that that would have made me a liar.”
Watch the full interview below:
