It’s tough to fathom that Ronda Rousey’s entire UFC career actually lasted less than four years.
She helped usher women’s fighting into the UFC after Dana White famously said it would never happen, and the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in judo then became one of the biggest stars in the history of the sport. At her peak, Rousey was neck and neck with Conor McGregor as the two most recognizable fighters the UFC had ever promoted.
But just as quickly as Rousey rose to fame, her plummet back down to Earth happened almost as rapidly. A stunning knockout loss to Holly Holm was followed by another rapid-fire finish from Amanda Nunes just 13 months later and that was the final time Rousey ever appeared in the UFC.
Looking back now, the UFC CEO believes it was actually Rousey’s undying commitment to building the sport and willingness to serve as one of the faces of the promotion that actually allowed the competition to catch up to her.
“What happened with Ronda was — Ronda was very unique in that she came in and put this thing on the world stage,” White explained on The Club Shay Shay podcast. “This thing being women fighting. She put it on the world stage at a level that nobody else could have done it. While she was doing what she was doing, building the sport and the UFC and women, all these other women were training to beat her.
“She had taken so much on her shoulders at the time, it was literally impossible for her to keep growing as a fighter during that period.”
Despite a dominant run through the UFC in her first six fights, Rousey’s final two appearances were the exact opposite.
She produced almost zero offense against Holm before the former boxing champion demolished Rousey with a vicious head kick less than one minute into the second round. In her next fight, Rousey never even really got started before Nunes was blasting her with punches and she was overwhelmed just 48 seconds into the fight.
While she never technically retired, Rousey was effectively done after losing to Nunes and, truth be told, White felt like she got out at the right time. As much as he enjoyed having Rousey around, White believes she had nothing left to prove when she ultimately decided to hang up her gloves before turning her attention to professional wrestling and starting a family with husband Travis Browne.
“I was sad that I wouldn’t work with her on a daily basis like we did but I felt like the timing was right,” White said about Rousey’s exit from the UFC. “She had done everything she set out to do. Not just for her and her career but what she did for women in fighting in general.”
Rousey was later inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame but she’s openly stated that she’s had a somewhat combative relationship with the sport since leaving.
In fact, Rousey claimed that she hasn’t attended a UFC event since losing to Nunes back in 2016 largely due to the negative receptions she knows she would receive.
“Everything that could be said that was negative was said, and I feel really vilified by MMA media at this point and not really welcome back, which is why I haven’t gone to a UFC fight since [I left]. I’m pretty sure if I walked into the arena, I’d be booed,” Rousey said back in May. “That’s how it feels.”
There’s no telling the kind of reception she might receive, but White would welcome her back with open arms because he’s never been around anyone quite like her before or after she left.
“The greatest athlete I’ve ever worked with,” White said about Rousey. “She was huge [for the UFC]. At the right time and the right place and women’s fighting is where it is today because of her. She was one of those athletes like anything, anywhere, any time. She was a work horse. Great human being. Brilliant. The greatest athlete I’ve ever worked with.”
