Ronda Rousey, a former UFC women’s champion, spoke out on June 19, 2025, about the neurological condition that ended her MMA career. The 38-year-old revealed how concussions triggered migraines, causing her to lose vision mid-fight, forcing her retirement. A recent diagnosis now offers hope.
In an interview, Rousey discussed her past silence, the medical findings, and her plans to address the issue.
Rousey’s Health Challenges
Rousey addressed her retirement decision.
“I don’t have any regrets or anything like that,” she said. “Fortunately, I have a lot more information now about what was going on with me. I just felt like I couldn’t be honest about what I was physically going through without people feeling like I was making excuses for myself. I also feel like I didn’t owe anyone any explanation especially if they were going to shit all over it. So yeah, I needed to figure out what was going on first.”
She added, “Dana sent me to this long-term fighters’ neurological study and they actually made some—I wouldn’t call them breakthroughs, but actually were able to diagnose a lot of the stuff that was going on with me and I guess still is. I just didn’t have all the information at that time. So, I couldn’t hand that information to me then to explain things better now, so no, I don’t dwell on that at all. It was the best I could do with what I had.”
Neurological Condition Details
Rousey explained the impact.
“He was saying that people that get migraines are actually more susceptible to concussions and the more concussions that you get, the easier it is for these impacts to set off a migraine,” she said. “And he was saying that not all migraines involve a searing headache, the headache part isn’t part of all of it and so what we think was going on was we kind of ended up in this feedback loop of the more concussions I was getting the easier it was to set off these migraines and so in these fights—go figure, two of my triggers is bright lights and head impacts—so I’d get hit and I’d basically lose big chunks of my vision and my depth perception and my ability to track movements quickly and make snap decisions, which is basically all the things that I need and I thought I have a concussion, I’m out on my feet, but I wouldn’t be stumbling around.”
She continued, “I didn’t lose my balance. This was like, I had to retire because this kept happening to me more and more often to the point where I would get a jab and I would basically go blind.” via MMAFighting
Born on February 1, 1987, in Riverside, California, Rousey started judo as a child. She won an Olympic bronze medal in 2008 and began MMA in 2010. She joined the UFC in 2013, claiming the bantamweight title with a win over Liz Carmouche.
Her record is 12-2, with victories over Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano. Losses to Holly Holm in 2015 and Amanda Nunes in 2016 prompted her retirement at 29.
Hope from Medical Insights
Rousey found a new outlook.
“[The doctor] said what he thinks is happening is these impacts, now because of all the concussions, are setting off these migraine events, which is like my neurons get overly excited and then they shut down,” she said. “So it could be a game changer because there could actually be some solutions to it. Before I was like, ‘Oh, it’s just inevitably declined and I inevitably declined until I was shitting my pants. Great. This is my life now.’ I was like, I need to stop this or else I’m just speeding this up.”
She added, “Now that I’m kind of getting some help in diagnosis and stuff like that, I’m much more hopeful than I’ve ever been and instead of just being like, ‘OK, this is just part of it, I’ve just got to walk away before it gets worse,’ possibly there’s something I can do to make it better. I just didn’t have this information back then. I didn’t know what to say other than there’s something going on with me and I can’t fight anymore because of it.”
Rousey’s last fight against Nunes in December 2016 showed her struggles. The knockout loss, tied to head trauma, led her to step away. She hid her condition then to avoid judgment.
The neurological study, backed by Dana White, uncovered the migraine link. Her openness now helps explain her choice.
Since retiring, Rousey has acted in films like Expendables 3 and written books. She also started a family, focusing on health and new projects.
At 38, Rousey explores treatments for her condition, moving from fighting to advocacy. Her path inspires others.
Influence on Fighter Health
Rousey’s story highlights concussion risks in MMA. Her success opened doors for women’s fighting, shaping figures like Amanda Nunes.
Her experience pushes for better safety measures. The sport grows with her lessons.
