Rousey: ‘If this is the end, it’s better than retiring undefeated’

Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey is back, and her return to the octagon did not last very long as she defeated Gina Carano via first-round armbar submission just 17 seconds into the scheduled five-round featherweight showdown at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Saturday, in the first MMA event promoted by Most Valuable Promotions.

The 39-year-old Rousey, who was a dominant force in MMA after winning her first 12 fights, felt the magic return against Carano.

“Maximum efficiency, minimum effort,” Rousey said. “You know, I told her [Gina Carano] I respect you, and I’m breaking your arm. No contradiction there. I was hoping to come out as unscathed as possible. I didn’t really want to hurt her. It was beautiful. It felt like the magic was back.”

Every fighter wants to go out on top, and after defeating Carano, Rousey feels she got some closure, and with the win, Rousey, who lost her last fight in 2016 to Amanda Nunes, gets her first victory since 2015.

“There’s no way I could’ve ended it better than this,” Rousey said. “This is a storybook ending if this is the end of my book as a fighter. I never thought I would come back. It didn’t cross my mind at all. But getting back into it reminded me of the joy that it gave me from the very beginning. Gina brought me into this sport, and she brought me back to it. We both needed to reclaim our bodily identity and rewrite our own ending together. It lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. I feel like I got the closure I needed.”

Photo: Esther Lin / Most Valuable Promotions

Rousey is unsure if she’ll keep fighting, and if this was her final fight, according to her, it was the “perfect ending.”

“I’m open to a future role with MVP if it fits my life,” she said. “We’re moving to Hawaii, and we want more babies. This felt like the perfect ending. If this is the end, it’s better than retiring undefeated. I got to do it on my terms, with family watching, and give back to the sport and to Gina(Carano).”