Ronda Rousey had severe concussion before vicious Holly Holm KO but can’t think of one fight where she wasn’t injured from stitches in her foot to a dislocated elbow

Ronda Rousey has claimed she was injured before each of her UFC fights.

The women’s MMA pioneer revealed to talkSPORT that she hid several medical issues from the UFC during her tenure with the company because she feared she would be forced to retire.

Ultimately, “Rowdy’s” UFC career was cut short due to his long history of concussions as an Olympic judoka.

Towards the end of her MMA career, the 37-year-old revealed that the situation was so bad that she experienced concussion symptoms almost every time she took a punch.

In 2015, she was the target of a vicious headbutt from Holly Holm that caused her to reevaluate her next steps.

Rousey says she went into that fight with a serious concussion, but she also doesn’t remember a time when she fought with a clean bill of health.

“I always went into every fight with some sort of injury,” she told YouTube channel talkSPORT MMA ahead of the launch of her new book “Our Fight.”

“I’ve fought before because of concussion symptoms after a fight. But I think that one was definitely the most serious (against Holly Holm).

“So it wasn’t like I got hit in sparring and saw stars and was sensitive to light and then had to lock myself in the locker room in the dark to getting over it, which had happened before many of my fights.

“Before that fight (against Holm), I literally slipped down the stairs and knocked myself out.

2

“And it was definitely a much more serious, much more combat-related concussion than I had ever dealt with before.

“But Robbie Lawler had already pulled out of that card (UFC 193) and I had heard they were trying to break an attendance record…I couldn’t pull out and leave Dana (White) hanging like That.

“I promised him that I would always be his girl, that I would be the one to show up and fight when everyone else stood down.

“I’ve never turned down a fight, I’ve never backed out of a fight and it’s not because I’ve never been injured, it’s because I’ve always fought anyway. “

Rousey then rattled off a long list of injuries she’s suffered during her illustrious career, including having nine stitches in her foot after being bitten by a pit bull before her MMA debut and fighting Sarah Kaufman with a dislocated elbow.

She commented: “My first fight I was in, nine stitches in my foot after being bitten by a pit bull two days before.

“It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary to say, ‘Well, I dislocated my elbow, I guess I’ll have to start hitting Sarah Kaufman three times in the face with my bad elbow.’

“The Julia Bud fight, I dislocated my AC joint, I had a grade two separation before that one…I had a MRSA infection right before the (Amanda) (fight) ) Nunes and I was like, ‘Well, I guess I’m fine with MRSA.

“I can’t think of a single fight where there wasn’t something wrong with me. But it’s kind of the champion’s responsibility in my eyes.

“You show up and you fight every time you’re challenged. You’re on top of the hill, you’re defending it.”

To watch the full interview, visit Talksport’s brand new MMA channel