Dana White on Ronda Rousey: she refuses to retire

It’s now been almost a year since Ronda Rousey’s last fight: an abrupt and jarring loss to reigning UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Rousey’s next most recent fight, her infamous, head-kick knockout loss to Holly Holm, was now more than two years ago.

Needless to say, the once dominant UFC women’s bantamweight queen an transcendent MMA star seems to be easing into a retirement from fighting. According to UFC President Dana White, however, Rousey refuses to close the door on her fighting career completely.

“She has not retired,” White said at a press conference on Tuesday. “USADA is still popping up at her house testing her, but she refuses to retire.”

“I don’t know [about Rousey],” White continued. “I honestly don’t know… She’s not ready to say, ‘I quit.’ She’s not ready to say, ‘I’m done,’ for whatever reason. She doesn’t tick like everyone else ticks.”

White then explained that, while a Rousey return is still possible, it’s not something he’s not interested in seeing.

“I wouldn’t want to see it,” White told MMAjunkie at the press event. “I don’t want it to have to happen. I care about her, and she’s got enough money. She’s got enough money and all of that stuff. I don’t want to see it happen.”

“She’s been working since she was a kid at becoming an Olympic medalist and then becoming a world champion. She’s achieved everything she’s wanted to do, she’s made a sh*tload of money, and now she actually wants to have a life.”

White then commented on whether Rousey truly understands the crucial role she played in the development of women’s MMA as a mainstream attraction.

“I think at one point she did, but I think because of how it ended, she might not [understand],” he said.

Do you think the decidedly not-retired Ronda Rousey will ever fight again?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 29/11/2017.