Ronda Rousey Confesses She Hid Concussion Damage Out of Fear of Dana White – “They Would Have Made Me Retire”

Ronda Rousey is a household name in mixed martial arts and a source of inspiration for many. The 37-year-old dominated the women’s bantamweight division with her aggression and skill. She held the record for the most number of UFC title defenses(6) by a female. Rousey announced her retirement from the sport in 2016 and to date remains one of the most recognizable mixed martial artists in the world. But all this didn’t come without sacrifice.

She recently made an appearance on YouTube for the Not Alone podcast. While speaking to the host, Valeria Lipovetsky, she shared her problems with concussions and how she dealt with them. Let us find out what she had to say.

Ronda Rousey opens up about concussions during her fighting days

Despite being a dominant champion in the UFC, Rousey had her share of problems as well. One of the biggest setbacks of her career was her loss against Holly Holm. The pair faced each other at UFC 193 for the women’s bantamweight title fight. Holm surprised everyone when she knocked out the Olympic bronze medalist in the second round. This was the first MMA loss for Rousey and since then, the fighter never looked the same. In this episode, she shared her experience with concussions and how she fought despite the problem.

The 37-year-old cleared as to how she didn’t want to say anything after the first fight. She further added, “Because you know the media were just trying to sensationalize everything and chop everything up into a headline. They weren’t trying to help me tell my story, and it’s the kind of thing I think that could only have been told in a book. Then I also wanted to go to WWE. They have a very compliment history with concussions and CTE and things like that. And if they knew how bad it was. I don’t think they ever would have hired me. They wouldn’t have allowed me to perform and so I had to keep these things to myself to keep my destiny in my own hands. Cuz if my coach or Dana knew how bad things had gotten, they would have made me retire and I wasn’t ready.”

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The former champion did not only face concussions during her time at the UFC. Her struggles with concussions started way back during her judo days. Rousey even claimed that she lost the fight to Holly Holm because of the same reason.

Ronda Rousey shares the real reason for her first MMA loss

A concussion is one of the most common injuries that an athlete faces in a combat sport. However, according to Rousey, her love affair with the injury started much earlier than the UFC. Before her move to MMA ‘Rowdy’ started her career in Judo. She even won an Olympic Medal in the sport but faced serious consequences from the damage. During her recent interview, she mentioned how concussion affected her fight against her long-time rival Holly Holm. 

‘The Baddest Woman on the Planet’ suffered one of the brutal losses of her career at the hands of Holm. However, she revealed the real reason for her loss in a recent interview. ‘Rowdy’ said, “Usually when I fight, time dilates and I see everything in slow motion. This [the fight against Holly Holm] was like I was in like a fog where I couldn’t tell a range or anything.”  Regardless of how the fight ended, Rousey remains one of the pioneers of MMA for women across the world.

Rousey’s contribution to the sport of fighting is second to none. Many believe she is the best woman bantamweight to ever grace the Octagon.  How highly do you rate Ronda Rousey as a fighter? Let us know in the comments below.

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