While former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey may not have given any indications as to whether or not she will officially retire any time soon, the MMA community has continued to speculate as to whether the former champ would return to the Octagon or not.
After suffering the first defeat of her professional career at UFC 193, Rousey returned to the Octagon in the main event of UFC 207, where she dropped a 1st round TKO to Amanda Nunes in a failed bid at recapturing her title.
Since then however, the former champ has gotten engaged, fueling speculation as to her inevitable retirement. While members of the combat sports community may want her to return however, UFC President Dana White isn’t so sure that he wants to see his superstar return.
He spoke to ESPN:
“I don’t know if I’d want her to,” he said. “The way she came in, the way everything went? It was perfect. I’ve never been one of those promoters that looks at, ‘Oh, imagine how much money I can make if Ronda Rousey comes back’ or the Chuck Liddells, all those guys. I’m actually the guy who, when somebody even hints at retiring, says, ‘I think you should retire.’”
This isn’t the first time White has strongly hinted that Rousey will never fight again, following Rousey’s loss to Nunes, the UFC President stated that the former champ simply doesn’t have it anymore:
“Well, it’s no different than any other sport,” White said. “I mean, when you’re a professional athlete and you’re performing at a certain level, the day comes when you don’t anymore, you know? It happened to Ronda and a lot of people have, had their comments on why and everything else. Who knows why? I don’t know why.”
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 8/4/2017.