Ronda Rousey, the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, is finally shedding light on the true reason behind her abrupt retirement from MMA in 2016.
During an Instagram Live session promoting her upcoming memoir, “Our Fight,” Rousey revealed the hidden medical struggles that ultimately forced her out of the octagon. For years, she kept her history of concussions a secret, fearing it would jeopardize her ability to compete.
“The concussion history that I had to keep secret for years… that’s basically why I had to retire,” Rousey stated, responding to a question from her interviewer and sister, Maria Burns-Ortiz.
Rousey’s undefeated streak and dominant reign ended with a shocking knockout loss to Holly Holm in December 2015. This defeat, along with the subsequent loss to Amanda Nunes a year later, marked a turning point in her career.
Speaking publicly for the first time about the Holm fight, Rousey acknowledged the emotional weight it carried. She explained the difficulty of discussing the loss openly, given her medical history.
“So much had to do with having so many concussions when I was in judo before I even got into MMA,” she revealed. “I couldn’t talk about it at all when I was doing MMA because it would literally put a target on my head, and I might not have been allowed to compete any further.”
Rousey’s concerns extended beyond her MMA career. She worried that disclosing her concussions could negatively impact her later venture into professional wrestling with WWE.
“Same thing with WWE,” she admitted. “They have a complicated history with concussions, and it would be a bad look on them.”
The memoir format, according to Rousey, provided a platform to finally address the complexities surrounding her retirement. Despite outward appearances of peak performance, her body ultimately made the decision to step away after the two consecutive losses.
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