Ronda Rousey has shared a significant health update ahead of her return to MMA, confirming she's been cleared to compete again.
'Rowdy' left the sport after suffering a 48-second knockout loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 in December 2016, following back-to-back defeats that marked the end of her time in the Octagon.
In 2024, Rousey dismissed rumours of a comeback, saying she wasn't "neurologically fit" to fight due to ongoing issues with concussions and brain trauma. But since then, things have taken an unexpected turn.
The former UFC bantamweight champion recently spoke out about a new diagnosis that opened the door for her return against Gina Carano on May 16.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Before signing with Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, Ronda Rousey sat down with Dana White to talk through her plans for a return. The UFC CEO was clear that any comeback would need to start with a full neurological assessment.
Speaking on The Jim Rome Show, the 39-year-old said: "When I first approached Dana, he was like 'first of all I want to make sure that you're OK.' He sent me to the Cleveland Clinic, where they have a long-term neurological fighter study going on. They checked me, did every single test possible to check me, and I actually finally got a positive diagnosis."
"Because we've never been able to figure out what's going on with me, and basically from lighter and lighter hits, I'm getting concussion symptoms. I lose big chunks of my vision, my depth perception, and ability to think clearly. Dr. [Charles] Bernick at the Cleveland Clinic said 'I've listened to all of your symptoms, I've looked at all of your scans, your brain looks great.'"
"What he thinks is happening is that I'm not actually getting a concussion every single time that this is happening," she added. "He thinks it's setting off what's called migraine aura, where you just lose big chunks of your vision, and it's called cortical spreading depression. Where I guess your neurons get overly excited and depolarize and shut down in a wave, and that's why I lose chunks of my vision when I'm getting hit."
She added: "I was telling him about my history, and as a kid I would get migraines all the time. Epilepsy runs in my family — every generation there's someone who had it — so there may be some link between epilepsy and migraines too.
"He was saying people who get migraines are more likely to suffer concussions over time since the two are connected."
Despite the challenges around finding effective medication early on — most treatments were designed for after symptoms appeared — she eventually found something preventative.
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