Major Update On Ronda Rousey Leaving WWE For A UFC Return

Could the Ronda One be returning to the Octagon once her WWE deal is up?

by Andrew Pollard
Ronda Rousey
WWE/UFC

With rumblings of Ronda Rousey departing WWE once her rivalry with Shayna Baszler is done, there's been plentiful speculation this week that the Rowdy One could make a return to the UFC once this latest WWE run is done.

For those hopeful of seeing Rousey back in the Octagon, it seems best not to get your hopes up.

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As per esteemed combat sports journalist - and Tony Khan's favourite interviewer - Ariel Helwani, there's no truth to these rumours of Ronda heading back to the UFC.

During her time with the UFC, Ronda Rousey made herself one of the biggest sports stars on the planet.

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Having impressed in Strikeforce, Rousey became the first woman in history to sign for the UFC back in 2012. As the reigning Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion at the time of the UFC assimilating that promotion, Ronda was made the inaugural UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion as part of her arrival in the company.

Rousey's fight career saw her become famous for her first round victories and her armbar submissions. Of her first 12 professional fights, only one would go past the first round; a third round armbar submission victory over Miesha Tate at UFC 168.

UFC 193 would see Ronda's dominance finally brought to a crushing halt by Holly Holm, with Holm securing a second round win after a head kick was followed by punches to the floored Rousey. Ronda would be back in action at UFC 207, where she'd be finished in the first round against then-UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes.

That was in December 2016, and was followed by an extended absence from the Octagon for Ronda, before she signed with WWE in 2017 and formally debuted for the promotion at the 2018 Royal Rumble. She would be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame that July.

Could Ronda Rousey somehow make a shock return to the world of MMA? Stranger things have happened. For now, though, it appears unlikely.

As for her current WWE run, the three-time Women's Champion is said to have a "hard out" once her present WWE deal expires. While it's not known exactly when that expiry date is, the belief is that it'll be once the ongoing rivalry with Shayna Baszler is done. Once that happens, it remains to be seen when - or if - Ronda will return to WWE at some point down the line.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.