Will Ronda Rousey return to the UFC after leaving WWE? Let’s find out.
Ronda Rousey battled Shayna Baszler in an MMA Rules match at WWE SummerSlam 2023.
Baszler won the match via Technical Submission after Rousey passed out to her Kirifuda Clutch.
This match was Rousey’s last match of her second WWE run.
The former RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion took to Instagram to state that Baszler was the reason she joined the pro wrestling business, but after their split, she has no reason to stay in the business anymore.
“@qosbaszler you were the reason I got into this business… Now I got no reason to stay”
During an interview with MMA Junkie in July, UFC fighter Chelsea Chandler said that she’s heard Rousey is returning to the UFC, this time as a Featherweight (145 lbs) fighter, and not Bantamweight (135 lbs):
“I’ve been hearing Ronda is coming back. I’ve heard she’s coming back at 145. You never know.
If I got out there and put on the performance I plan on putting, I’ll welcome her to 145. I think it would be a great fight.
It has been a long time for her, and things change, people get better, and I think people are on to her one-trick-pony Armbar.
Money talks, and she would bring eyes to the sport again. I feel like her time in WWE is starting to go down, so I’d like to see it.”
Soon after this, MMA Journalist Ariel Helwani shot down these rumors:
“Ronda Rousey is not considering a UFC comeback, I’m told. No truth to the rumors.”
During an interview with Sports Illustrated, UFC President Dana White was asked about the possibility of Rousey returning to the Octagon for the milestone UFC 300 pay-per-view in 2024.
Below is what White said:
“There’s no shot. She’s accomplished everything she set out to do. Her dream was to win a UFC Championship, then win a WWE Championship, and she’s done it.
Now she’s starting a family. Ronda has made so much money, and she’s still making a lot of money in sponsorships.”
Along with being the first ever female champion in the UFC, Ronda Rousey was also the first ever female inductee in the UFC Hall of Fame. She was inducted in 2018.
Her MMA record is 12-2. She lost her last two fights in devastating fashion.
At UFC 193 on November 15th 2015, Holly Holm knocked out Rousey with a Head Kick to win the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship.
In her last fight at UFC 207 on December 30th 2016, Rousey tried to reclaim her championship, but Amanda Nunes destroyed her in 48 seconds and won the fight via TKO (punches).
WATCH: Ronda Rousey In A Bikini:
