Ronda Rousey never gave a formal resignation from the UFC. In fact, in a 2018 interview with Ellen DeGeneres, she had confessed, “No one demanded a written resignation from me for judo and I don’t really think the same thing is necessary for fighting.” But her silent exit from MMA sparked endless debate. Fans wanted answers, critics questioned her move, and the sport seemingly moved on without her.
Now, ‘Rowdy’ has finally broken her silence, and turns out, there was much more happening behind the scenes that the world may have realized. Speaking to Spencer Matthews on an episode of the ‘Untapped’ podcast on YouTube, the former women’s bantamweight champion was asked, “When you left the UFC, there was a lot of, kind of backlash and skepticism I suppose about you know, the manner in which that was done. If you look back at it now, would you do anything differently?”
Rousey began by stating, “My great grandma had a saying that, ‘Of all the like crazy things that people do, it was the best thing they could think of to do at the time,’ and in order to do anything differently, I would have had to have been a different person. And I don’t have any regrets or anything like that.”
Once seen as an indestructible force inside the Octagon, she revealed that her body had long been breaking down. What fans saw as a fall from greatness was, in truth, a battle with undiagnosed neurological issues. She continued, “Fortunately, I’ve a lot more information now about you know, what was going on with me, and I just felt like I couldn’t be honest about what I was like physically going through…”
And that’s where UFC boss Dana White came in to help. ‘Rowdy’ revealed, “Dana sent me to this long-term fighter’s neurological study,” adding that it helped her finally understand the root of her struggles. “I wouldn’t call them breakthroughs, but [they’ve] actually been able to diagnose a lot of the stuff that was going on with me—and still is.”
MMA: UFC 207-Nunes vs Rousey, December 30, 2016 Las Vegas, NV, USA Ronda Rousey fights against Amanda Nunes during UFC 207 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports , 30.12.2016 22:46:11, 9778685, Amanda Nunes, T-Mobile Arena, NPStrans, Ronda Rousey, MMA, TopPic PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMarkxJ.xRebilasx 9778685
Her words echo what she’s said before. In her 2024 interview with ‘People’, Rousey admitted to hiding concussions throughout her career and opened up about the same in her 2024 memoir, ‘Our Fight’. She even revealed that during her brutal loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193, she was likely already concussed before the now iconic head kick landed, as she stated, “It [ticks] me off when people see that and say, ‘this is Ronda being outclassed’. That’s me with my brain not properly working.”
Back then, she didn’t know the full extent of the damage. Now, with the help of Dana White’s intervention and time away, Rousey’s beginning to understand what went wrong, and why her body finally said no. Ronda Rousey’s legacy, though complicated, remains untouchable. She wasn’t just a fighter, she was a movement. The first woman signed to the UFC. The first female champion. The reason women’s MMA exists on the biggest stage today.
Her fall may have been sudden, but her rise reshaped history. In fact, another female MMA star on the rise has recently pointed to ‘Rowdy’ as the reason behind her own decision to pursue a life inside the Octagon!
Ronda Rousey opened the gates for fighters like Miranda Maverick to chase their MMA dreams
Before Miranda Maverick ever stepped into a cage, she saw Ronda Rousey do it first. And just like that, a spark was lit. In a recent interview, the No. 11 ranked women’s flyweight star shared, “She (Rousey) was the first person I ever saw fight. Her versus Liz Carmouche was my introduction to the idea that women even fought in MMA.”
That fight took place at UFC 157 in 2013. The result? A first-round submission win by ‘Rowdy’ with her patented armbar despite getting her jaw dislocated by an early neck crank attempt from her opponent.
Maverick shared that she was just 14 years old when she saw Rousey dismantle Carmouche with her dad, who was watching the fights on the sofa as she shared, “He was like, ‘You could do that one day.’ And I was like, ‘No, I don’t want to get punched in the face!’”
Fast forward a few years, and she was doing just that. At 17, Maverick dipped her toes into jiu-jitsu. Two years later, she dove into MMA. It’s a journey she credits to watching Rousey blaze the trail as she shared, “I had no idea until that first women’s fight in the UFC. That was the first time it ever even crossed my mind.”
In conclusion, Ronda Rousey may have stepped away from the Octagon without a formal goodbye, but her presence never truly left. Her battles, both public and private, continue to echo across generations. From breaking barriers in the UFC to breaking the silence about her health, Rousey’s journey is one of grit, pain, and resilience.
And as fighters like Miranda Maverick now chase greatness, inspired by the legacy of ‘Rowdy’, one thing becomes clear: she didn’t just fight in the UFC. She changed it!
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