FIGHTING TALK Ronda Rousey makes huge MMA return decision amid UFC 300 rumours and Dana White’s ‘super fight claim’
RONDA ROUSEY has reportedly made a major decision regarding a potential return to the octagon.
The former long-reigning UFC women’s bantamweight champion walked away from the sport in December 2016 after her first-round battering at the hands of Amanda Nunes.
Roda Rousey has been linked with a shock return to the UFC in recent monthsCredit: GETTY
A return at UFC 300 has been mooted for the ex-women’s bantamweight championCredit: GETTY
But Rousey is reportedly planning on growing her family with husband Travis BrowneCredit: GETTY
Rousey, who eventually ended up wrestling in the WWE, has repeatedly been linked with a return to the cage in recent years.
And just a few months ago, it was claimed she was considering strapping on her gloves for UFC 300 next April.
Talk of a potential return for ‘Rowdy’ ramped up after UFC Chief Executive Dana White revealed the promotion are working on a big-money “super fight”.
But according to reports, fighting is a million miles away from the Hall of Famer’s mind.
That’s according to wrestling and MMA insider Dave Meltzer, who claims Rousey isn’t fussed about fighting again because she plans to have a second child with husband Travis Browne.
He wrote in his Wrestling Observer Newsletter: “Dana White has been teasing the idea of a dream match in April for UFC 300.
“This has led to talk of Ronda Rouesy vs. Miesha Tate going around, although everything we’ve heard from the Rousey side is that she is not interested in fighting again and was looking to have another child.
“White had in the past always shot down any rumours of Rousey returning, which naturally started when her WWE contract expired and she left full-time pro wrestling.”
UFC president Dana White has shut down the prospect of Ronda Rousey fighting againCredit: GETTY
Rumours of a potential octagon return for Rousey haven’t escaped UFC bigwig White, who hasn’t shied away in publicly dismissing a comeback fight for the women’s MMA pioneer.
The veteran promoter recently told Sports Illustrated: “There’s no shot. She’s accomplished everything she set out to do.
“Her dream was to win a UFC championship, then win a WWE championship, and she’s done it.
“Now she’s starting a family. Ronda has made so much money, and she’s still making a lot of money in sponsorships.”
Olympic bronze medallist Rousey was slammed for how she handled defeat to Nunes and for walking away the sport without so much as a goodbye.
But she said last year: “I think it was difficult [to walk away] in both judo and MMA.
“In that everyone else felt that they wanted more from me.
“In judo, you peak in your mid-20s. I medalled at 21 so I was going to be 25 for the next Olympics.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, this is it. You’re going to be the first [American woman] to win Olympic gold.’”
Rousey added: “I didn’t want it anymore and I couldn’t do it for everybody else.
“And I think that’s a mistake that I made with MMA.
“[It] was when I got to that point where I didn’t want it anymore, I kept doing it for everybody else.”
Ronda Rousey hasn’t fought since being stopped by Amanda Nunes at UFC 207Credit: USA TODAY SPORTS
