Ronda Rousey returned to MMA in stunning fashion, quickly submitting Gina Carano in the main event of Most Valuable Promotions’ first MMA card on Netflix.
It came nearly ten years after her previous fight, making the performance even more impressive.
Rousey looked sharp, decisive and completely at home again. Yet this was also her final MMA fight.
Afterwards, ‘Rowdy’ reflected on her career and offered a fascinating view on losing her undefeated status.
Ronda Rousey explains why losing undefeated record helped MMA
During the post-fight press conference, the 39-year-old MMA legend said (via Uncrowned): “I think this is much better than retiring undefeated. I didn’t really learn until I went into pro-wrestling and saw that if you retire with the title, you take all of that equity with you, and it would have been to the detriment of the division if I did that.
“I think that’s part of one reason why the 145-pound division is gone in the UFC, because it retired with Amanda [Nunes,] and I think it needs to be passed on.
“That was a really selfish goal for me to have, and I’m glad that my equity was able to live on past me and to give credibility to the division, and if I retired undefeated, I would have taken the credibility with me. So, it was the best thing for the sport.”
It was a striking explanation by Rousey, who no longer framed those defeats only as personal failure. Instead, she presented them as part of the division’s story. Her name helped build it, but losing meant that value could continue through others.
Ronda Rousey confirms retirement after Gina Carano win
Rousey also confirmed to Ariel Helwani that she was done fighting, despite leaving some room for interpretation before the MVP card.
“There’s no way I could’ve ended better than this. I wanna have some more babies and I gotta get cookin,” she stated inside the cage.
That made the Carano win even more special. Rousey came back once, won quickly, then left on her own terms.
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