Ronda Rousey Talks UFC Return After WWE Exit: ‘If I Could, I Definitely Would’

Doric SamJuly 23, 2024

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Ronda Rousey was once the face of the UFC, but it doesn’t sound like she’s interested in a return to the Octagon anytime soon as she continues her journey through motherhood.

Rousey, who last fought in 2016, was asked by Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso about the prospects of a UFC return and she responded, “I appreciate when people ask. Maybe it means they still miss me.” She followed up by saying she would welcome the opportunity to compete again, but she’s comfortable with how life is going now.

“If I could, I definitely would,” Rousey said of a UFC return. “If I want to have a whole basketball team full of kids, I can’t take any more detours. I’ve always wanted to be a mom with a lot of kids.”

After a run in WWE from 2018 to 2023, Rousey has completely transitioned away from combat sports. Her new passion is writing, and Barrasso noted that she sold her first screenplay to Netflix recently. She will also be releasing her first graphic novel, Expecting The Unexpected, on Thursday.

“I’ve put every fiber of my being into this,” Rousey said of her newfound writing career. “It’s a real labor of love.”

AWA Studios @AWA_StudiosAnnouncing our next @Kickstarter: EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED by WWE & UFC Champion @RondaRousey & @MikeDeodato. The graphic novel launching in July sets a new bar for fight scene authenticity as it follows a pregnant mom with a bounty on her head fighting waves of assassins…(1/3) pic.twitter.com/r1VT6UVNQ8

While Rousey was one of the best fighters on the planet at one point, she has found a new calling that she’s passionate about, so fans shouldn’t expect to see her back in a combat sports setting in the near future.

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