Ronda Rousey says she hid “concussions and neurological injuries” for years during her trailblazing run as UFC bantamweight champion.
American Rousey, 37, became the first woman to join the UFC in 2012, defending her title six times before defeat by Holly Holm in 2015. Rousey says the loss caused her to “self-assess” her career for the sake of her long-term health.
“It's hard to look at footage of that match,” Rousey told BBC Sport.
“Because I can literally see in my eyes I'm suffering from a neurological injury decades in the making.
“It [ticks] me off when people see that and say, ‘this is Ronda being outclassed'. That's me with my brain not properly working.”
Rousey, speaking following the release of her new book Our Fight, revealed how a decade's worth of concussions suffered during her judo career, where she won Olympic bronze for the USA in 2008, affected her UFC run.
Rousey stops and takes a deep breath as she describes her wellbeing going into the Holm fight, which she lost via a head kick knockout in the second round.
“I was concussed going into that fight – I fell down the stairs and knocked myself out two weeks before,” she recalled.
“But I had been hiding concussions and neurological injuries for so long that it just became part of it. And that was the point I was forced to really self-assess and be like, ‘your brain has taken too much damage for too many years'.”
Rousey would fight once more in a stoppage defeat by Amanda Nunes 13 months after the loss to Holm, before retiring and later joining the WWE. Rousey had previously dominated her opponents until the defeat by Holm.
During her 14-fight career, she earned nine armbar stoppages, with 11 of her wins coming in the first round as she deliberately pressured opponents to limit damage received.
“When I came into MMA I couldn't take any hits so I had to develop a style of fighting that I believe is the most efficient that's ever been made with the express objective of avoiding damage,” she said.
“It forced me to be really quick and efficient and try to finish off people very quickly. It wasn't an accident or luck, it was something I was doing very much on purpose.” Rousey paused with a solemn expression before adding: “Now removed from it, I can be proud of myself and be like no-one could even get close to me until it got to the point where even being touched put me out.
“Even though it feels like everyone will always define me by my failures, I know I created the most efficient fighting style that ever existed and I'm proud of that.”
‘Doctors were shocked I have a pristine brain'
Athletes, across a wide variety of sports, are more aware of the risks concussion poses than previously.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a brain condition linked to repeated blows to the head and concussion. The condition, which gradually gets worse over time and leads to dementia, can only be diagnosed by a post-mortem examination.
Only 45 cases of CTE were confirmed worldwide in 2007, and now more than 10,000 people have taken part in studies. Earlier this week, Manchester United defender Raphael Varane also called for greater protection and better awareness around concussion.
Rousey kept the severity of the injuries to herself and has chosen to open up about them now, fearing the UFC and later the WWE would prevent her from competing for her safety. Before debuting in the WWE in 2018, Rousey described her relief, detailing how she cried when doctors told her she had a “pristine brain” following an MRI scan.
“They were shocked, like, ‘oh my god we were expecting this to be a hot mess but your brain is pristine',” added Rousey.
“I stopped crying whenever I lost my phone after that because before I was like, ‘the CTE is coming for me'.
“It was weighing on me a lot before I got checked out. I worry because there is both Alzheimer's and dementia in my family and these are from family members who weren't taking a bunch of hits to the head for a few years.”
