“I’m wrapping it up,” Rousey said. “This is definitely one of my last fights.”
Those words ring loudly throughout the MMA world.
WME-IMG just purchased the UFC for $4.2 billion with the assumption that it’d be taking their biggest stars to new heights. Learning that one of those megastars is on borrowed time is shocking.
It also complicates the women’s bantamweight division. Rousey all but confirming that she will hand-pick her next few fights means that the most-deserving will get passed up for Rousey’s personal vendettas.
There’s also the fact that Rousey, who before last year competed about 3 times a year, will be gone around this time next year.
Many have wondered if Rousey’s new ambitions were to settle down with boyfriend Travis Browne and start a family but when she announced her return everyone expected to see the ‘Old Rousey.’ The no-nonsense, all about business, Ronda that once made her the most feared women in combat sports.
A fighter or athlete with one eye on retirement is problematic. That is what Ronda has now become. Will a loss at UFC 207 speed up the process and force her into retirement? Will any loss mean the end of Ronda? Will she dare risk a brutal KO at the hands of Cyborg?
These are all questions fans should have and concerns UFC execs should carry. Rousey and McGregor are the two biggest draws in the sport’s history and not knowing whether you’ll get one more major payoff or four is enough to give Ari sweaty palms.