‘It isn’t safe for me anymore’ – Ronda Rousey ends UFC comeback speculation once and for all with emotional admission
Ronda Rousey has insisted she is not medically fit enough to entertain a UFC return.
The former UFC superstar forged a high-profile career in the octagon, touching gloves with the likes of Holly Holm, Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes during her ten-fight stint with the promotion.
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Rousey has been heavily linked with a return to MMA, which came to particular prominence at the UFC 300 card earlier this year where she was rumoured to appear.
But 'Rowdy' has insisted she simply cannot return given the concussions she suffered which forced her to retire in 2018.
“Every couple years the same rumour comes out,” she told the . “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.
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“You just get to a level where the neurological injuries you take accumulate over time. They don’t get better.
“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.
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“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.”
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Rousey's concussions came to the fore after she fell to her first professional defeat, being left on the canvas after a brutal head kick KO by Holly Holm in 2015.
She was forced to take a year long hiatus to recover from the damaging shots, having previously been on an eight-fight winning streak.
Her final bow came in 2016 when she was beaten by UFC legend Nunes inside 46 seconds, which saw her eventually decide to walk away from the sport.
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UFC president Dana White has admitted on multiple occasions the door will remain closed, citing her accomplishments giving her no reason to return.
Rousey has still forged an impressive career joining the WWE after her time in the UFC, which has been a lucrative experience.
She departed the company in 2023 after making more huge achievements, and is now wrestling on the independent circuit.
The former UFC star is also currently pregnant with her second child.
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