Ronda Rousey has informed WWE of her “hard out” date as rumors of UFC return continue to swirl

Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey has reportedly informed the WWE of her soon-to-be departure.

Rousey went full-time with the WWE in 2018 after sporadic appearances for a couple of years following her departure from MMA and the UFC. After Ronda Rousey suffered a knockout loss to Amanda Nunes in 2016, she left the sport and in 2018 told Ellen DeGeneres that she likely would never make a comeback.

However, after a few years in the WWE, some rumors recently began to swirl that Ronda Rousey may come back to MMA and the UFC to fight for the vacant bantamweight title. Of course, the 135lbs title became vacant after Amanda Nunes announced her retirement. Following Nunes’ decision to hang up the gloves, UFC commentator Jon Anik mentioned Rousey as a potential person to fight for the vacant title.

RELATED: Amanda Nunes dismisses future UFC champions in her weight class.

After Anik’s comments, some fans didn’t think it was serious, but some reports came out that Ronda Rousey could indeed return. To add to that, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Rousey has informed WWE of her hard out, but the exact date is uncertain.

“This was always, always, always the plan,” Meltzer said (h/t SEScoops) about Ronda Rousey. “It kept getting delayed and then Ronda got hurt and the thing was – and I don’t know the date, and it might be SummerSlam, it might be a little bit after – the deal is that Ronda has a hard out. She gave a date, ‘This is my last date.’ I remember talking to somebody there and it’s like, ‘I know they’re going to do this, and I guess, make the big match for WrestleMania.’ And it’s like, ‘No, her hard out is…’ – they didn’t give me the date but it’s long before WrestleMania.”

After Meltzer’s report, many people began to wonder if Ronda Rousey leaving the WWE is a sign of her potential return to the UFC. As of right now, Ronda Rousey has yet to comment on the rumors, but her coming back to fight for the belt would be very interesting.

In MMA, Ronda Rousey went 12-2, including going 6-2 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and was the inagural UFC bantamweight champ. In her career, she holds notable wins over Miesha Tate, Julia Budd, Liz Carmouche, and Cat Zingano among others.