- Ronda Rousey talked about having history with concussions even before she became a UFC fighter
- “Rowdy” revealed how the wrong size of mouthguard affected her performance against Holly Holm
Ronda Rousey opened up about concealing her real physical condition during her time with the UFC and what people didn’t know about her title fight with Holly Holm.
Ronda was already banged up prior to the UFC
Speaking to Cageside Seats, “Rowdy” came clean about her prolonged history with concussions as a judo fighter. Despite knowing that it was dangerous, Rousey refused to tell the UFC and Dana White the truth as she didn’t want to be forced to retire.
“I had a very rich concussion history before I even started in MMA. For my entire judo career, which was like 10 years, I actually was experiencing concussion symptoms more often than not for an entire decade,” Rousey said.
“It got to the point where if I was getting touched at all, if I was getting jabbed, I was starting to get concussion symptoms and I couldn’t tell my coach about it. I couldn’t tell Dana about it. ‘Cause, they would retire me. They wouldn’t let me fight. And I wasn’t ready to let go. I wasn’t ready to admit that I couldn’t do everything perfectly. ‘Cause that’s what I had to believe to be able to be at that level,” she revealed.
Ronda got the wrong mouthguard
Rousey also looked back at her devastating title fight loss to Holm at UFC 193. According to the former UFC women’s bantamweight champ, she lost composure and control the moment her bottom teeth got hurt and it was due to the wrong size of mouthguard that she used.
“The first time I got touched in that fight, it knocked all my bottom teeth loose and I was completely out on my feet the entire fight,” Rousey said. “I couldn’t see how far away she was from me, if that makes sense. And [I was] not seeing things as quickly. Usually when I fight, time dilates and I see everything in slow motion. This was like I was in like a fog where I couldn’t tell a range or anything.”
Rousey concluded that it reached the point where her body decided for her and she was prompted to retire from MMA.
“Your brain doesn’t callous. It doesn’t get tougher. It’s just an inevitable decline and there’s nothing I could do about it.”
Ronda Rousey opened up about her decision to retire from MMA at age 29 in 2016. pic.twitter.com/sbv2tMqmZa
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 22, 2024
Rousey last fought in professionally in 2016 at UFC 207 where she lost to Amanda Nunes via first-round TKO. She then transitioned to pro wrestling and became one of the most celebrated figures in the WWE.
