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Ronda Rousey says she’s the ‘greatest ever’ after explaining MMA comeback

Originally posted on HITC | By Christopher De Santiago | Last updated Oct 17, 2025 9:47 AM ET

The former UFC and Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion played a huge part in raising the profile of women’s MMA. She broke new ground as the first woman to headline a UFC event, sharing that milestone with Liz Carmouche in 2013.

Rousey finished all 11 of her opponents in the first round before suffering back-to-back title fight losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. That, along with a history of concussions, led to her retirement in 2016.

After her latest pregnancy, Rousey has made an impressive return to training, hitting pads with intensity during MMA sessions for the first time in years. Amid talk about a potential return, Rousey has spoken about what’s drawn her back into the sport.

Ronda Rousey says she’s ‘the greatest ever’ after training again

It’s been eight years since Rousey last fought at UFC 207, and in that time, she stepped away from MMA entirely.

Speaking on The Breakfast Club, Rousey shared that her return to training started when one of her coaches asked if she could help them earn a black belt in judo. “I’m just having fun with it again,” Rousey said about getting back into MMA training.

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“And it got to a point where I feel like it kinda got hijacked from me, and I was fighting and training for reasons other than my own.

“And after having my last baby, it just being pregnant is f—– tough. I literally it felt like I was, like, handicapped compared to being a finely tuned athletic machine where I feel like I can do anything to suddenly, like if I did a forward roll, I think I would throw my back out.

“And so that’s kind of where it just started off, like, I just wanted to get that my bodily identity back from just being a vessel for creating another person.”

“I started training in MMA again because when lost that identity as being a fighter –- –- kind of lost that identity as being a fighter. It broke my heart too much even be near the sport because loved it so much. So went the other way entirely didn’t want train or do anything at all.”

I’m not sure why people are surprised by this: “They’re like, you look so good. And Imma be honest with you: It’s because Im the greatest ever,” said Rousey.