Rousey: ‘Secret’ Concussion History Forced UFC Retirement

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is done fighting … we’re just not allowed to call it retirement. Not even Ellen could get the Olympic bronze medalist to use the R-word when it came to her fighting career but I think it’s safe to assume that “Rowdy” is gone for good.

Especially now that she’s spilling the tea from her combat sports cup.

“My concussion history that I had to keep secret for years so I would be able to continue to compete and perform,” Rousey said during Instagram Live (via MMA Fighting). “That’s basically why I had to retire. So much had to do with having so many concussions when I was in judo before I even got into MMA, I couldn’t talk about it at all when I was doing MMA. Because it would literally put a target on my head and I might not have been allowed to compete any farther.”

Rousey, 37, jumped out to a perfect 12-0 start but then suffered back-to-back knockout losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. “Rowdy” remains one of the biggest stars in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA), but faced criticism late in her career for the way she (mis)handled her championship losses.

Then came a turbulent run in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

“Same thing with WWE,” Rousey continued. “They have a complicated history with their performers getting concussions and it would be a bad look on them. So I felt like I really couldn’t talk about it at all. So I feel like this long form that I would be able to adequately address it. A really hard decision to understand but one that my body really made for me. I feel like this is the only way to really get that across in the best, most complete way that it’s not just a tweet and a headline short.”

Rousey is currently promoting her memoir, “Our Fight.”