IT WILL BE over a year since she last competed when Ronda Rousey makes her return to the octagon in December, but the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion admits that she’s already thinking about retirement as she prepares for her 14th professional fight.
Having suffered the first defeat of her MMA career in November of last year when she was knocked out by Holly Holm, Rousey (12-1) has been granted an immediate title shot against reigning champion Amanda Nunes for her comeback, which will take place at UFC 207 in Las Vegas on 30 December.
An opportunity to exact revenge against Holm may be high on Rousey’s list of priorities, while UFC president Dana White recently claimed that a long-awaited clash with veteran Brazilian featherweight Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino “will definitely happen” if Rousey overcomes Nunes.
Rousey, who will turn 30 next February, has mostly kept a low profile since losing her title to Holm 12 months ago in Melbourne, but she appeared as a guest on The Ellen Show today.
When asked how long she plans to continue competing, the California native said: “Not that long. I’m wrapping it up. This is definitely one of my last fights. Everyone better watch because the show isn’t going to be around forever.”
Rousey won a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympics and has also appeared in several movies in recent years. Prior to her defeat to Holm, Rousey’s MMA career was flawless, with 11 of her 12 wins coming inside the first round. In spite of her dominance, Rousey’s time at the top appears to have taken its toll.
She said: “I think it’s the build-up [to each fight] that’s more tiring than anything else. If we had a fight right now, I’d fight right now and then I’d go and get dinner, and I wouldn’t feel really tired about it.
“It’s the weeks and weeks of build-up beforehand when you know you’re fighting this one person and it’s like your showdown, the most important thing in your whole life, millions of people are watching… it’s that build-up for weeks on end. If it just happened right now I wouldn’t be nervous at all. It’s the waiting.”
