After a Brutal Beatdown in UFC 207 Ronda Rousey Needs to ‘Think About the Future’

This wasn’t a retirement announcement.

In a statement released to ESPN after her devastating loss to Amanda Nunes in UFC 207, Ronda Rousey indicated she needed to contemplate her next move — but she didn’t pull a Miesha Tate and decide she was done with pro MMA. 

Rousey thanked fans “who have been there for me in not only the greatest moments but in the most difficult ones.”

The statement continued on to say that mere words”cannot convey how much your love and support means to me.” Then Rousey addressed her loss:

Returning to not just fighting, but winning, was my entire focus this past year. However, sometimes — even when you prepare and give everything you have and want something so badly — it doesn’t work how you planned. I take pride in seeing how far the women’s division has come in the UFC and commend all the other women who have been part of making this possible, including Amanda.

I need to take some time to reflect and think about the future. Thank you for believing in me and understanding.

It’s probably surprising given how dramatically Rousey lost her last two matches that she hasn’t outright retired. Perhaps she will, but she just wasn’t ready to pull that trigger yet. Then again, as Dana White said, she is “psychotically competitive.”

We’ll see Ronda again, no doubt, and she’ll be kicking ass. But it seems a lot more likely to be the choreographed and heavily rehearsed ass-kicking that looks great in movies, like her reboot of Roadhouse, which will be out sometime in the next year or two. 

h/t ESPN