Dana White sounds like he’s ready and willing to usher Ronda Rousey out of the fight game.
The UFC president revealed to reporters Tuesday at a media lunch he hopes Rousey, the former women’s bantamweight champion, never returns to the promotion’s octagon for a competitive bout. Rousey has stayed away from the mixed-martial-arts scene since last December, when she quickly lost to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 and hasn’t revealed what her future fighting plans are, if they exist at all.
Having previously predicted Rousey’s UFC career might be over following consecutive losses to Nunes and Holly Holm, White explained why he hopes the former superstar doesn’t fight again.
“I wouldn’t want to see it,” White said Tuesday, per MMAfighting.com. “I wouldn’t want it to happen. I care about her. She’s got enough money. She’s got enough money and all that stuff. I don’t want to see it happen. It’s like Chuck Liddell. I was hearing that Chuck was talking about fighting again. I hope that’s not true.”
Rousey and Travis Brown married in August, and White believes she’s thriving outside the UFC spotlight.
“She’s super happy,” White said. “She’s traveling, she’s hanging out, she’s doing her thing. Imagine never having a personal life and then you get one.”
However, since Rousey hasn’t announced her retirement, she remains subject to anti-doping tests.
“She’s not ready to say ‘I quit,’” White said. “She’s not ready to say I’m done, for whatever reason. She doesn’t tick like everybody else ticks. We found that out throughout the years. … She has this awesome personal life, she’s super happy and why put up with that aggravation anymore? Just announce it and the USADA (unannounced testing) stuff stops.”
Although White has offered his opinion on Rousey’s future, we must remember her long-established UFC legacy gives her the right to determine solely when to leave, or return to, the sport.
