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LAS VEGAS — Dana White doesn’t know if Ronda Rousey will ever fight in the UFC again. And if she wanted to, the UFC president doesn’t think he’d be a big fan of the idea.
“I wouldn’t want to see it,” White said Tuesday at a media lunch. “I wouldn’t want it to happen. I care about her. She’s got enough money. She’s got enough money and all that stuff. I don’t want to see it happen. It’s like Chuck Liddell. I was hearing that Chuck was talking about fighting again. I hope that’s not true.”
Rousey, 30, was last seen in the UFC nearly a year ago when she was knocked out in 48 seconds by women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. Before that, Rousey was knocked out by Holly Holm in November 2015.
“Rowdy” was undefeated going into the Holm fight and the most dominant fighter — male or female — in the UFC. She was also the biggest mainstream star in the promotion’s history.
Those days, though, are gone. White said he still talks to Rousey regularly and she’s in a very good place following a very hectic few years in the public eye.
“She’s super happy,” White said. “She’s traveling, she’s hanging out, she’s doing her thing. Imagine never having a personal life and then you get one.”
Rousey has reportedly been in talks with WWE about a pro-wrestling deal. Some recent social media posts have been about a movie she is filming, “Mile 22.” Earlier this year, she got married to UFC heavyweight fighter Travis Browne. The California native has not spoken about fighting at all since last year and even then she did very little media ahead of the fight with Nunes.
Despite all that, Rousey has not formally retired, White said. She has not put it in writing or made any kind of announcement. So USADA, the UFC’s anti-doping partner, still shows up at her home and tests her.
“She has not retired,” White said. “USADA is still popping up at her house and testing her. She refuses to retire.”
White said he is not 100 percent sure why Rousey won’t make it official.
“She’s not ready to say I quit,” White said. “She’s not ready to say I’m done, for whatever reason. She doesn’t tick like everybody else ticks. We found that out throughout the years. … She has this awesome personal life, she’s super happy and why put up with that aggravation anymore? Just announce it and the USADA stuff stops.”
White maintains that he would have never brought women into the UFC as fighters if not for Rousey. Even now. He said that at one point Rousey was very familiar with her legacy as someone who opened up doors for other women in the sport, but he’s unsure if that is as cemented with her now following the two knockout losses.
To this day, White said he is unsure of how Rousey went from the baddest woman on the planet to the victim of two straight knockout losses. But the comparison to Mike Tyson he has made for years applies here, too.
“I always used to compare her to Tyson and it’s totally like Tyson,” White said. “I agree. It’s like this aura of invincibility.”
“I wouldn’t want to see it,” White said Tuesday at a media lunch. “I wouldn’t want it to happen. I care about her. She’s got enough money. She’s got enough money and all that stuff. I don’t want to see it happen. It’s like Chuck Liddell. I was hearing that Chuck was talking about fighting again. I hope that’s not true.”
Rousey, 30, was last seen in the UFC nearly a year ago when she was knocked out in 48 seconds by women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. Before that, Rousey was knocked out by Holly Holm in November 2015.
“Rowdy” was undefeated going into the Holm fight and the most dominant fighter — male or female — in the UFC. She was also the biggest mainstream star in the promotion’s history.
Those days, though, are gone. White said he still talks to Rousey regularly and she’s in a very good place following a very hectic few years in the public eye.
“She’s super happy,” White said. “She’s traveling, she’s hanging out, she’s doing her thing. Imagine never having a personal life and then you get one.”
Rousey has reportedly been in talks with WWE about a pro-wrestling deal. Some recent social media posts have been about a movie she is filming, “Mile 22.” Earlier this year, she got married to UFC heavyweight fighter Travis Browne. The California native has not spoken about fighting at all since last year and even then she did very little media ahead of the fight with Nunes.
Despite all that, Rousey has not formally retired, White said. She has not put it in writing or made any kind of announcement. So USADA, the UFC’s anti-doping partner, still shows up at her home and tests her.
“She has not retired,” White said. “USADA is still popping up at her house and testing her. She refuses to retire.”
White said he is not 100 percent sure why Rousey won’t make it official.
“She’s not ready to say I quit,” White said. “She’s not ready to say I’m done, for whatever reason. She doesn’t tick like everybody else ticks. We found that out throughout the years. … She has this awesome personal life, she’s super happy and why put up with that aggravation anymore? Just announce it and the USADA stuff stops.”
White maintains that he would have never brought women into the UFC as fighters if not for Rousey. Even now. He said that at one point Rousey was very familiar with her legacy as someone who opened up doors for other women in the sport, but he’s unsure if that is as cemented with her now following the two knockout losses.
To this day, White said he is unsure of how Rousey went from the baddest woman on the planet to the victim of two straight knockout losses. But the comparison to Mike Tyson he has made for years applies here, too.
“I always used to compare her to Tyson and it’s totally like Tyson,” White said. “I agree. It’s like this aura of invincibility.”
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