Ronda Rousey admits she's not 'neurologically fit' for UFC return
08/25/2024 02:10 PM
Amid the never-ending rumors, Ronda Rousey has shut down any chance of her returning to the UFC.
The former UFC women's bantamweight queen suffered her first loss inside the octagon nine years ago. A year later, 'Rowdy' was knocked out by Amanda Nunes — which will likely serve as her final ever outing in the sport.
Despite reports suggesting otherwise, Ronda Rousey has confirmed that she will never return to the UFC. According to Rousey, her body will no longer hold up at the highest level of combat.
"Every couple of years or months, the same rumor comes out," Rousey said while addressing her return. "It's nice to feel missed, I guess."
"But yeah, it's not happening.im just 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 attributes her inability to continue fighting to the damage she's endured over the years.
"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, it was really, I was playing a game of zero errors. It got to the point where I was fighting more often than anybody. I had more outside of fighting responsibilities than anybody."
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"It just got to be that lighter and lighter hits were hurting me more and more and more. It 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 just wasn't safe for me to fight anymore. I just couldn't continue to fight at that higher level."
Ronda Rousey revealed that she wanted to retire much earlier, but felt she owed women's MMA more.
"I wanted to retire undefeated, I was trying to find a way out already."
"But, it was all dependent on me. What I learned from pro wrestling is that, retiring undefeated would have been such a selfish goal to be able to accomplish."
"I would have taken all of that equity with me and no one would have respected the rest of the women that I left behind."
Watch Ronda Rousey's interview below.
