Ronda Rousey has officially dispelled any hopes and speculation about her returning to the world of mixed martial arts, citing irreversible neurological damage as a compelling reason to stay retired from the sport. This revelation adds a poignant layer to her early departure from MMA, which came as a shock to many fans in 2016.
Rousey, once a dominant force in the UFC, became an influential figure who altered the landscape of women's fighting. Her rapid ascent from regional circuits to the heights of Strikeforce and, eventually, the UFC, solidified her as a household name and mainstream star. She was instrumental in convincing UFC President Dana White to embrace women's fighting, a move that forever changed the sport.
However, behind her meteoric rise lay a series of harrowing health struggles. "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 shared, offering a stark insight into the physical toll that combat sports had taken on her.
Rousey's decision to step away from MMA came after back-to-back knockout losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. It was during this period that the severity of her neurological decline became unmistakable. "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," she explained.
The roots of Rousey's neurological issues run deep, surprising many who might assume they were solely a byproduct of her fighting career. "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," Rousey revealed.
By the time Rousey transitioned into MMA, she had already experienced dozens of concussions. "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." Her candidness paints a grim picture of the unseen battles athletes face in their pursuit of greatness.
Rousey's openness extends beyond her personal experiences, shedding light on a broader issue in contact sports. "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," she stated, underscoring the culture of silence that often surrounds neurological injuries in sports.
Her story is a sobering reminder of the critical need for better concussion management and support systems in contact sports. The realities Rousey has shared compel ongoing discussions about athlete health and safety, prompting a reevaluation of how sports institutions address and mitigate the effects of concussions.
Though Ronda Rousey’s days in the octagon are unequivocally over, her legacy continues to influence and inspire. As a former Olympic bronze medalist and a trailblazer in women's MMA, her impact on the sport is indelible. The statistical highlights of her career are remarkable, but it is the narrative of her silent struggle with neurological decline that will resonate most deeply, opening critical discourse on an issue that affects countless athletes across various disciplines.