Rousey: Pro wrestling is my life now

On Sunday former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, and the most famous figure in mixed martial arts history, appeared at WWE Royal Rumble and announced she had signed as full-time WWE cast member.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/957829866958630912

‘Rowdy’ declined to say she was retiring from MMA. That doesn’t mean you can expect to see Rousey, 30, fight again, as she declined to say she was retiring from Judo, either.

Her last match in Judo was a repechage win vs. Annett Boehm in the 2008 Olympics. Rousey won bronze and became the first American woman to medal in Olympic Judo. Her last MMA fight was a failed attempt to win back her belt from Amanda Nunes, at UFC 207 on December 30, 2016. She was the first woman to hold a UFC belt. Indeed WMMA in the UFC was built around her.

Rousey never returned to Judo and she’s never returning to the Octagon, but, she says never say never.

I wouldn’t doubt myself doing anything, she said, as transcribed by Marc Raimondi for MMA Fighting. “I mean, I never retired from judo. If that’s what you guys want to think, all I know is that I really want to devote 100 percent of my time to wrestling right now and whatever people want to call that, they can call it.

Combat sports promoters have the unconscionable custom of using athletes until their brains are gone, and then booking them still. However, UFC president Dana White says Rousey is happy where she is in life, has a bank account with many, many zeros, and he doesn’t want to book her again in the Octagon.

Dana is still one of my best friends, she said. I love him. He’s been very supportive of this from the very beginning. I told him that I really want to bring him to a show, so I can show him. It’s so different when you’re actually there, when you’re really experiencing it. It’s the same thing they say about fighting, like you have to be there. It’s different. And I got him to say he’d come to a show with me someday. I’m gonna give him the intro. It’s almost like bringing your kid to work day or bringing your parent to school day. I can’t wait to show him why I love it so much and for him to kind of catch the bug, too. Because I know that he will. I know that he will.

One of the saddest realities of combat sports is that a vanishingly small number go out on top. Ronda left Judo 3rd in the world, and MMA 3nd in the world. While normal people are happy to be best in their gym for their belt, Ronda Rousey is not normal.

It’s still hard to realize your childhood dreams not coming true, she said. I think the only thing that really helped was finding something else to devote myself to and be successful at. I think I only was able to get past the Olympics when I started doing MMA. And I do believe there is a parallel there. It still hurts that I didn’t win the Olympics. It sounds ridiculous to a lot of people, right? ‘You’re an Olympic medalist, you should be happy.’ But it would be hard to explain that to my 10-year-old self that was so sure she was gonna win the Olympics.

Things all happen for a reason and I really do believe that. I really do believe that the worst things in life result in the best things that could happen. And I think that this journey into this industry is really proving that belief is real.

Rumor has it that the WWE wants to do a tag team match with Rousey and The Rock vs. Stephanie McMahon and HHH at WrestleMania on April 8.