Is Ronda Rousey preparing for a return to MMA?

Cameras recently captured Ronda Rousey training near her home in Malibu, fuelling speculation that the former bantamweight champion is preparing for a return to MMA.

We haven’t heard much from Ronda since her UFC 207 loss to Amanda Nunes late last year. Her silence has led many to believe her fight career is over, but Ronda has never said that herself.

Dana had this to say regarding Ronda’s future plans:

“I think she’s going to ride off in the sunset and start living her life outside of fighting,”

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY

Would Ronda Ever Return to Fighting?

Ronda Rousey has yet to say her fight career is over. Plenty of other people have said as such, but never Ronda herself. If there wasn’t a part of her who still wanted to fight, she probably would have officially retired by now.

What little communication Rousey has sent out to the world since UFC 207 has been vague and hard to decipher. She has posted several quotes to her social media pages, the latest being from May 4th:

#quotephase

A post shared by rondarousey (@rondarousey) on

She also let the world know about her engagement to Travis Browne and her guest spot on “the Blind Spot”. No mention of her future plans however.

Rousey’s judo coach, Justin Flores, spoke with media recently, and indicated he does not see her returning to MMA anytime soon:

“I would support her, but personally I don’t think it’s in the cards, I don’t think that’s what she wants in this time of her life.

“I mean, I’m not discounting anything. Maybe later. But I just don’t see that being something she wants to jump into and focus full force to be the best.”

Matt Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

Ronda Rousey’s Career Options

Unfortunately, it does not appear as though Rousey’s Hollywood career is going much better than her MMA one. While Rousey did film 2 movies which were slated to come out this year, both projects have been shelved indefinitely.

There is speculation that studios were not impressed with Rousey’s acting ability. Alternative speculation is that the studios are waiting until Rousey’s star-power bounces back some before releasing them.

Another possible career avenue for Rousey is the WWE, who have made no secret of their desire to sign Rousey. Stephanie McMahon even told reporters they were interested in signing Rousey once her UFC deal was up. Rousey is a longtime WWE fan, and briefly appeared at WrestleMania 31.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports.

Rousey Training Video Surfaces

Recently cameras from TMZ captured Rousey training on the sand dunes near her home in Malibu.

YouTube video

Sand dunes are giant hills of sand formed through ocean tides. Many athletes have found that running up sand dunes is a great way to create resistance in their cardio workout.

Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports

Ronda Rousey on Battle of the Network Stars

While Rousey’s future plans in MMA are not currently known, we do know she will return to competition later this month. Rousey will captain a team on the upcoming season of “Battle of the Network Stars” which debuts on June 29th.

Video of Rousey training on the ABC Network’s seaside obstacle course was released earlier this month:

YouTube video

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Ian is a MMA writer based out of Toronto, ON Canada. An avid mixed martial arts enthusiast and passionate fan since he was born, Ian has been writing about mixed martial arts for over 5 years.