Ronda Rousey has opened up about how significantly her neurological problems impacted her unexpected defeat to Holly Holm, a loss that marked her decline in the UFC and ultimately led to her departure from MMA.
At 39, Rousey is set to make a comeback this Saturday against Gina Carano in the main event of Netflix’s inaugural MMA event. She reflected on her experience during the 2015 knockout match against Holm—a fight that not only cost her the UFC women’s bantamweight title but also ended her undefeated streak.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani on Monday, Rousey expressed that her neurological issues had persisted for some time, but it was the fight against Holm that truly pushed her limits.
She recounted the first significant impact from a punch, resulting in knocked-out lower teeth and a cut lip, among other injuries. Holm was a top-notch striker, even a multiple boxing champion—someone Rousey had never faced before.
During the second round, Rousey suffered a kick to the head that sidelined her permanently. “I had a severe migraine aura. A lot of my vision was gone, including depth perception, and I struggled to think clearly or track moving things. But I could still stand and maintain my balance,” Rousey stated. “I’ve been trained all my life not to show vulnerability, because if I do, they’ll exploit it. So, through that fight, I was trying to mask the fact that I couldn’t see or think straight.”
Sadly, the issues persisted when she made her last UFC appearance more than a year later against Amanda Nunes, then a rising star and champion. Nunes ended Rousey’s career in just 59 seconds—a stark contrast to how quickly Rousey had finished most of her opponents during her dominant 10-fight win streak.
Post-fight, Rousey came to realize that her time in MMA was winding down.
“While I was grappling with the fear of being blind and the realization that my career was essentially over, I felt as if people were unfairly judging my fighting skills and intelligence,” she shared. “No one understood the obstacles I was facing, yet they still made assumptions that affected my image. After that fight, I could barely hit anymore.”
She credits UFC CEO Dana White for encouraging her to seek help at the Cleveland Clinic, where she was prescribed a transformative medication for her migraine auras. This intervention allowed her to leave the sport on her own terms.
“That’s why we can do things like this,” Rousey said, referring to her match with Carano. “But at the time, I felt like I’d be seen only for that one performance. That’s not who I am, as a fighter; I would always be judged by that moment.”
As a mother of two, Rousey believes in the concept of everything happening for a reason. She feels that her earlier losses allowed her to pass some recognition back to Holm and Nunes. Now, she’s eager to face Carano, expressing to Scott Fontana that she views this as likely her last fight.
“I’m returning to MMA not just for myself, but for the opportunity to reshape the entire sport,” Rousey explained. “MVP and Netflix stepping in as true competitors to the UFC is essential; it provides fighters with an influence they haven’t had before. If I had retired undefeated, none of this would have been possible.”
