Ronda Rousey has made it clear that Saturday’s fight against Gina Carano on Netflix is the end of her competitive career, regardless of the result, telling Ariel Helwani that a return to the UFC is not on the table and that her immediate priority after the fight is starting a family again.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show ahead of her return to the cage for the first time since December 2016, Rousey was direct about why the Carano fight is her last.
“To the UFC, to fight? No. I promised my husband that this is the last one. He is the one that I have to convince to get on board with this promoter shit after. He’s not going for the fighting at all after this. Honestly, I want to get started having babies again right away. I want to have at least two more, if I can. I can’t be taking detours anymore. This is the peak. I can’t go higher than this. This is the dream fight and the absolute pinnacle for me. This is the perfect way to end it.”
Rousey has been absent from MMA competition since suffering back-to-back knockout losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes in 2015 and 2016. In the years since, she has had multiple stints with WWE and has two children with her husband, Travis Browne.
Rousey has also discussed her ambitions beyond fighting, including a potential leadership role in MVP MMA if the Netflix card proves successful, telling TMZ she believes she is more qualified than UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell to help guide the promotion’s expansion into MMA. That promotional ambition, rather than any competitive return, appears to be where her post-fighting energy is directed.
Rousey vs. Carano takes place Saturday, May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood on Netflix.