UFC legend bitten by MMA bug again
Ronda Rousey might not be fighting at UFC White House, but that doesn’t mean she’s sitting idly on the sidelines.
It’s been almost nine years since Rousey last competed in the octagon and she’s kept busy in retirement, raising a family, spending time as a headlining act for WWE, writing a second book, and making the occasional film, television, and video game appearance.
Rousey is unlikely to ever fight again, though she recently told The Lapsed Fan Podcast that she’d “never say never” about a possible return. On Sunday, the former UFC bantamweight champion shared a clip of the progress she’s made in training from put on the gloves back on eight weeks after the birth of her second child to now.
Watch the video below.
“From eight weeks after having a baby and eight years of stepping away from MMA to eight months postpartum and finding my love for it again,” Rousey wrote in an accompanying caption. “The first clip is my first session working with [coach AJ Matthews]. I was super self-conscious, embarrassed of how much I regressed, and honestly trying my very best not to pee my pants throwing punches so soon after having baby Pā’ū.
“Second clip was yesterday, I’ve never laughed or smiled so much on the mat as I do these days. The last six months have been an absolute blast, feels like I have so much left to grow, and without the weight of the world on my shoulders nothing is holding me back.”
In her prime, Rousey was not only a dominant UFC champion, but one of the most famous athletes in the world. The Olympic bronze medalist in judo won six consecutive bantamweight title fights, finishing three of those opponents in under 40 seconds, and became a top box office draw for the promotion. She parlayed that success into mainstream fame, appearing in the movie Entourage as well as films in the Fast & Furious and Expendables franchises.
However, it wasn’t a storybook ending for Rousey’s MMA career as she dropped the bantamweight championship to Holly Holm at UFC 193 after being on the wrong end of a head kick knockout and then took a one-year hiatus from competition only to lose to Amanda Nunes in 48 seconds at UFC 207.
Now 38, Rousey seems content to have moved on from fighting while keeping herself prepared just in case the right opportunity comes along.
Category: General Sports
