We may have to add Ronda Rousey to the list of UFC stars looking to step out of retirement to compete on the big 4th of July show on the White House lawn.
According to former fighter and UFC analyst Chael Sonnen, there’s a hot rumor running rampant behind the scenes that Rousey is willing to return to action specifically to fight new women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison. And while Chael doesn’t believe it will come together, he does claim Rousey is the source of the story.
“I can confirm the story came from Ronda,” Sonnen said. “And in this space, it’s always Ronda’s camp, one of Ronda’s people, Ronda’s inner circle. I understand those things, but it was. The absolute inner circle of Ronda has let it be known: that she will take on the winner of Amanda and Kayla as long as it’s Kayla. So in other words, ‘I’ll return to fight for the title if Kayla needs an opponent.’”
“Everybody in our industry is hearing the story and they’re all talking about it, but they don’t have the quite the confirmation to come out and bring it to you,” Sonnen added later in his video. “As a matter of fact, it’s believed when Dana alluded to this big surprise that none of you will see coming, that is what he is alluding to. The idea of two Olympic medalists on the White House grounds, they think is very American and a very good feel.”
In an alternate dimension, Ronda Rousey vs. Kayla Harrison would indeed be the perfect fight for the UFC’s America 250 event at the White House. But Rousey just spent a good chunk of 2024 telling people she had to retire from MMA because of how many concussions she’d had. By the end of her UFC days, Rousey says she couldn’t even take a jab in training without concussion symptoms.
It’s a bit of a miracle that “Rowdy” was able to cross into pro wrestling and have a career in the WWE given how bad things reportedly were. If she did try to return to MMA, we’d have serious reservations about whether she should even be licensed.
It just sounds far-fetched, and Chael Sonnen feels the same way.
“I don’t believe it’s going to happen. It is the rumor, though,” he concluded. “Ronda versus Kayla — not only will that not happen, but Ronda Rousey competing in anything at one hundred and thirty five pounds? Also not gonna happen.”
