It didn’t take long for Ronda Rousey to show the UFC world what’s coming. Just a year into the sport, in 2012, she became the first-ever women’s bantamweight champion. But the spark fizzled out soon after. In one of sport’s biggest upsets, Holly Holm defeated Rousey with a head kick knockout in the second round at UFC 193 to end her 10-fight winning streak. Despite the loss shattering her, she fixed another matchup with Amanda Nunes the next year, only for the latter to beat her with a TKO in mere 48 seconds. And just like she came into the UFC, she also left. No word, no message, nothing.

As The Baddest Woman on the Planet recently dropped her videos of MMA training, Ariel Helwani’s longtime right-hand man, Eric Jackman, shares his two cents on her early departure. On the Submission Radio podcast, he said, “Maybe this is controversial. I know many media members don’t feel the same way I do, but I do feel like she kind of got a raw deal at the end. It felt to me for the longest time that the UFC was kind of pushing her into those last couple of fights, especially the Amanda Nunes fight, where she was just worn out…

“I just think mentally she had enough, especially after that Holly Holm fight, she was completely checked out… I had sympathy for this woman that had completely checked out and the UFC kind of needed her more than she needed the UFC by the end. It’s nice to see that maybe she’s having a different relationship with MMA as a sport now and can kind of come back and come to it with a more positive view than the end of her run. Whether she fights again or not, I don’t know we’ve seen many people tease their comeback, but it wouldn’t shock me. She left early enough. I’m sure she’s got some miles in her,” Eric Jackman further stated.

In her 2023 interview with Daniel Cormier, too, Rowdy had revealed something similar. Then, she said that she lost the passion for the sport. For her, it was more about fighting for others, not herself. However, in Rousey’s 2024 Instagram Live, she blamed the concussions she had from her time in judo. She reasoned that she had to keep them a secret to continue her fighting career in UFC and then later in WWE. But with her being tight-lipped about the exit only to reveal different reasons raised many eyebrows. 

But, it is a possibility that Jackman is correct as well. In her short 5-year stint in the UFC, Rousey fought two fights in a year with at least four months gap in between. In 2015, though, she had three matchups. February’s UFC 184 bout against Zingano, August’s UFC 190 bout against Bethe Correia, and the UFC 193 against Holm in November. The gap between her two fights was barely three months. However, a recent revelation by Rousey has come to light, detailing how Dana White helped her.

Talking to Spencer Matthews on his Untapped podcast recently, she informed everyone, “Dana sent me to this long-term fighter’s neurological study. I wouldn’t call them breakthroughs, but [they’ve] actually been able to diagnose a lot of the stuff that was going on with me—and still is.” Although Rowdy herself cleared the air on White’s actual role in her retirement, the jury is still out. But with her training for MMA and finding her love for the sport again, the next question that comes to everyone’s mind is: can she make a comeback? Jackman believes there might be.

Insider’s tips for Rousey to secure a comeback

Currently, the bantamweight division doesn’t have much depth. And so, if Rousey does return, an Amanda Nunes rematch or a dream matchup with another Olympian, Kayla Harrison, may not be out of the question. “With the right matchup, it could be interesting. Also, not for nothing, you know, 135 lbs is kind of as shallow as it’s ever been. There’s literally nothing there for the winner of the Kayla Harrison-Amanda Nunes fight. Maybe a Julianna Pena trilogy if it’s Amanda Nunes. But we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel and digging off the bone here. So, Ronda Rousey would be a huge name and a real injection into that division.”

There have been quite a few fighters who’ve failed to make the most of their comeback fight after years away from the game. Henry Cejudo, a former champion, met the same fate when he returned after three years at UFC 288 but lost. Similarly, there is a chance that Rousey meets the same fate since the sport has evolved since she last competed in 2016. But in one condition.

The coach responsible for Ronda Rousey’s rapid ascent, Edmond Tarverdyan, saw his relationship with the Hall of Famer deteriorate towards the end of her career. That was especially because he tried to exercise too much control over her. So, Jackman claims that there is no use going back and training with him, and has instead suggested she take the assistance of Josh Barnett, since there is a mutual respect between the two former champions.

“I don’t know if it’ll be the worst idea to go back to Edmond [Tarverdyan]. And maybe that’s a controversial take as well… This is where it’s coming from, right? You need familiarity. You need somebody you know. You need comfort. If you’re Ronda Rousey, you don’t necessarily need to be put through the grinder. What you need is stability… Just team up with Josh Barnett, whom she knows and has a fondness for, and let him kind of direct that ship.”

Ronda Rousey may have resumed training and has fans wondering if she’d come back, but there has been no indication on her part. It’ll be interesting to see if that happens, as a few big events, like the UFC White House show, are coming up soon. But do you think if her departure was truly because of White, she would return to UFC?