Ronda Rousey fighting Amanda Nunes.Photo:Christian Petersen/GettyRonda Rouseyis finally telling the world why she retired from MMA.While promoting her upcomingmemoirOur Fightin anInstagram Liveinterview on Thursday, the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, 37, directly addressed the reason why she suddenly left the sport in December 2016 after a TKO loss to Amanda Nunes.“My concussion history that I had to keep secret for years so I would be able to continue to compete and perform, that’s basically why I had to retire,” she said on Instagram Live when her interviewer and sister, Maria Burns-Ortiz, (who is the book’s co-author) asked her to list facts that her fans don’t know about her.Before 2015, Rousey was an Olympic judo bronze medalist who had never lost a fight in MMA and had defended her UFC title six consecutive times. The first loss of her career came at the hands of Holly Holm at UFC 193 in December 2015.:Ronda Rousey attends FOX’s Stars On Mars “The Mars Bar” VIP red carpet in June 2023.Frazer Harrison/GettyHolm, 42, kicked Rousey in the head and knocked her out to win the fight.On Instagram Live, the former WWE performer, also finally spoke publicly about that loss for the first time.“I think that there was just so much to [my feelings about that loss], that I couldn’t talk about it in the form of like an interview or an article or anything like that, or there would be several filters between my words and people reading it,” she said, adding that the reason she took the loss so poorly also had to do with her medical history.Ronda Rousey celebrating a win in August 2015.Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty“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 further.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Rousey, who was a WWE entertainer from 2018-2023 after she retired from the UFC, said that even after she retired, publicly discussing her history of concussions would have jeopardized her spot in the wrestling entertainment organization.Maria Burns-Ortiz and Rousey.Ronda Rousey/Instagram"Same thing with WWE. 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,” Rousey admitted, adding that she felt like a memoir was the only way she could talk about the end of her career.At the end of the conversation, Rousey said that her “body” made the decision that it was time for her to retire after two consecutive losses, though she appeared to be at the height of her career.Our Fightwill be available on April 2.
Ronda Rousey fighting Amanda Nunes.Photo:Christian Petersen/Getty
Christian Petersen/Getty
Ronda Rouseyis finally telling the world why she retired from MMA.While promoting her upcomingmemoirOur Fightin anInstagram Liveinterview on Thursday, the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, 37, directly addressed the reason why she suddenly left the sport in December 2016 after a TKO loss to Amanda Nunes.“My concussion history that I had to keep secret for years so I would be able to continue to compete and perform, that’s basically why I had to retire,” she said on Instagram Live when her interviewer and sister, Maria Burns-Ortiz, (who is the book’s co-author) asked her to list facts that her fans don’t know about her.Before 2015, Rousey was an Olympic judo bronze medalist who had never lost a fight in MMA and had defended her UFC title six consecutive times. The first loss of her career came at the hands of Holly Holm at UFC 193 in December 2015.:Ronda Rousey attends FOX’s Stars On Mars “The Mars Bar” VIP red carpet in June 2023.Frazer Harrison/GettyHolm, 42, kicked Rousey in the head and knocked her out to win the fight.On Instagram Live, the former WWE performer, also finally spoke publicly about that loss for the first time.“I think that there was just so much to [my feelings about that loss], that I couldn’t talk about it in the form of like an interview or an article or anything like that, or there would be several filters between my words and people reading it,” she said, adding that the reason she took the loss so poorly also had to do with her medical history.Ronda Rousey celebrating a win in August 2015.Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty“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 further.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Rousey, who was a WWE entertainer from 2018-2023 after she retired from the UFC, said that even after she retired, publicly discussing her history of concussions would have jeopardized her spot in the wrestling entertainment organization.Maria Burns-Ortiz and Rousey.Ronda Rousey/Instagram"Same thing with WWE. 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,” Rousey admitted, adding that she felt like a memoir was the only way she could talk about the end of her career.At the end of the conversation, Rousey said that her “body” made the decision that it was time for her to retire after two consecutive losses, though she appeared to be at the height of her career.Our Fightwill be available on April 2.
Ronda Rouseyis finally telling the world why she retired from MMA.
While promoting her upcomingmemoirOur Fightin anInstagram Liveinterview on Thursday, the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, 37, directly addressed the reason why she suddenly left the sport in December 2016 after a TKO loss to Amanda Nunes.
“My concussion history that I had to keep secret for years so I would be able to continue to compete and perform, that’s basically why I had to retire,” she said on Instagram Live when her interviewer and sister, Maria Burns-Ortiz, (who is the book’s co-author) asked her to list facts that her fans don’t know about her.
Before 2015, Rousey was an Olympic judo bronze medalist who had never lost a fight in MMA and had defended her UFC title six consecutive times. The first loss of her career came at the hands of Holly Holm at UFC 193 in December 2015.
:Ronda Rousey attends FOX’s Stars On Mars “The Mars Bar” VIP red carpet in June 2023.Frazer Harrison/Getty
Frazer Harrison/Getty
Holm, 42, kicked Rousey in the head and knocked her out to win the fight.
On Instagram Live, the former WWE performer, also finally spoke publicly about that loss for the first time.
“I think that there was just so much to [my feelings about that loss], that I couldn’t talk about it in the form of like an interview or an article or anything like that, or there would be several filters between my words and people reading it,” she said, adding that the reason she took the loss so poorly also had to do with her medical history.
Ronda Rousey celebrating a win in August 2015.Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty
Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty
“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 further.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Rousey, who was a WWE entertainer from 2018-2023 after she retired from the UFC, said that even after she retired, publicly discussing her history of concussions would have jeopardized her spot in the wrestling entertainment organization.
Maria Burns-Ortiz and Rousey.Ronda Rousey/Instagram
Ronda Rousey/Instagram
“Same thing with WWE. 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,” Rousey admitted, adding that she felt like a memoir was the only way she could talk about the end of her career.
At the end of the conversation, Rousey said that her “body” made the decision that it was time for her to retire after two consecutive losses, though she appeared to be at the height of her career.
Our Fightwill be available on April 2.
source: people.com
