Why did Ronda Rousey retire from UFC?
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Ronda Rousey is a former Raw Women's Champion
Ronda Rousey is an American professional wrestler, who last competed for WWE in 2019. But prior to her time on WWE, she is also a former judoka and a former mixed martial artist. She went on to become the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in judo. Post her participation in the 2008 Summer Olympics she started pursuing a career in the mixed martial arts.
Rousey made her MMA debut for King of the Cage. Next she moved to Strikeforce and even won the Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion. Strikeforce was then bought by UFC. Ronda Rousey then became a part of UFC and even became their inaugural female Champion. This was first of the many firsts for Rousey in UFC.
Ronda Rousey participated in the first women’s fight in UFC history. She successfully defended her title at UFC 157 against Liz Carmouche, and even went on to set the record for the highest number of UFC title defenses by a woman. But her undefeated streak came to an abrupt end in her seventh title defense. At UFC 193 Holly Holm knocked out Rousey in the round two of the bout.
During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Rousey mentioned that she felt like committing suicide in the immediate moments after the match. She returned at UFC 207 to face the then-Champion Amanda Nunes. Rousey lost the fight via TKO, in the first round. Post the consecutive losses, Rousey made it clear that mixed martial arts was not a priority for her anymore.
Post her massive consecutive losses, Rousey moved on to WWE and a career in Hollywood. “It’s no longer a priority in my life. All the people that tell you, ‘Come on, fight again! Do this again.’ They would never do that for me,” mentioned Rousey in an interview with USA Today.
Ronda Rousey’s WWE run
In 2017, Ronda Rousey signed a full-time contract with WWE and started training at their Performance Center in Orlando. She made a surprise appearance at Royal Rumble 2018 and confronted the Champions – Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair and Asuka. She made her WWE debut at Wrestlemania 34 in a mixed Tag Team match, where she teamed up with Kurt Angle to defeat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
Next, she kicked off a feud against Alexa Bliss, whom she defeated to become the Raw Women’s Champion. After a dominant reign of 231 days, she lost the title at the main event of Wrestlemania 35. Becky Lynch defeated Rousey and Flair to become a double Champion. This was also the last time she was seen on WWE.
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Sanchit Chandalia
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