The question on every MMA fan’s mind is what’s next for Ronda Rouse after she suffered a devastating loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 on Friday.
Not even her coaches seem to have an answer to that question.
Rousey’s nutrition coach, Mike Dolce, appeared on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani on Monday and said he thinks the chances Rousey ever returns to the octagon are “50-50.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised either way,” Dolce said. “I want to make sure that’s contextual. If she says, ‘I want to be back for Super Bowl weekend or the July 4th card,’ I would not be surprised in the slightest. If she says, ‘I’ve done my thing in MMA, I’m gonna retire as a legend in the sport, specifically for WMMA,’ I wouldn’t be surprised, either. I truly think it’s 50-50 right now.”
Rousey took more than a year off following her first loss when she was knocked out by Holly Holm at UFC 193 last November. She had difficulty handling the defeat mentally and emotionally, admitting she had suicidal thoughts. However, Dolce says even though Rousey’s future is murky, she’s dealing with this loss much better than the last.
“She’s in a great place,” Dolce said. “She has an amazing support system around her, truly. I think she’s at an excellent point in her life. And this is my personal opinion, what happened in Australia against Holly, that was like a death. It was the death  — and she had said — of who she wanted to be and what she wanted to be.”
Rousey released a statement earlier this week expressing her desire to take some time off and really think about what she will do next.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
