Ronda Rousey was only in professional MMA for five years and nine months.
Even the biggest Ronda Rousey hater cannot deny that what she managed to do for the sport in such a short period of time was incredible.
It wasn’t that long ago when Dana White was adamant that women would never compete in the UFC. He would soon learn to never say never. Even if some of his later actions showed he was reluctant to take that lesson to heart.
Rousey not only proved that women were worth their place in the UFC, but also that they could be big players in the sport. Since her rise and subsequent fall from the zenith, we have seen multiple events, including pay-per-views, headlined by female fighters. Three of these events were estimated to have broken the million PPV buyrate mark.
Not bad considering the first female fight in UFC history only went down five years ago.
This doesn't bode very well https://t.co/P4XPJW35ei
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 29, 2018
A new chapter
Despite not officially retiring, it’s been overwhelmingly obvious that Rousey has fought her last MMA bout. Unbelievably, she’s still in the women’s bantamweight rankings even though she hasn’t had a fight since 2016.
USADA aren’t testing her, she’s signed for the WWE and she’s still not really addressing her last two UFC fights, which were brutal knockout losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes respectively. During a recent appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show (Is it just called Ellen now, or what’s the craic?), she all but confirmed that her MMA career is over.
“I think it’s just as likely as me going back to another Olympics for judo. No one demanded a written resignation from me for judo and I don’t really think the same thing is necessary for fighting. I’m just doing what I enjoy and WWE is what I enjoy right now.”
In other words, not bloody likely.
In the build-up to the Nunes fight, Rousey didn’t make any media appearances or talk to the press. At the time, it felt she had one foot out the door. Now, it appears as though it has been slammed shut behind her.
