Ronda Rousey Discloses Neurological Condition That Ended Her UFC Career – Ronda Rousey has broken her silence about the underlying medical condition that ultimately forced her to walk away from her UFC career, revealing previously undisclosed health struggles during an appearance on the UNTAPPED podcast. The former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion and Hall of Famer shared in detail how a long history of concussions—compounded by a predisposition to severe migraines—led to frightening neurological symptoms that left her unable to compete at the highest level.
Rousey explained that her participation in a recent long-term neurological study finally shed light on the cause of the issues that derailed the final stretch of her fighting career. “We found out that it has a lot to do with migraines,” she said. “I have epilepsy runs in my family… and there is a relationship between epilepsy and migraines.”
The findings suggested a dangerous cycle: Rousey’s existing migraine condition made her more vulnerable to concussions, and each concussion, in turn, intensified her migraine episodes. “People that get migraines are actually more susceptible to concussions, and the more concussions that you get, the easier it is for these impacts to set off a migraine,” she explained.
The symptoms were severe. “I would get hit, and I basically, like, lose big chunks of my vision and my depth perception and my ability to track movements quickly and make snap decisions,” Rousey said—skills essential to any elite fighter. Even minor sparring sessions would leave her debilitated. “I would have to, like, shut myself into a dark room afterward… lighter and lighter hits were causing it to the point where, like, if I was getting jabbed at all I was basically, like, losing my vision.”
Despite these challenges, Rousey remained silent at the time, unwilling to offer explanations she feared would be interpreted as excuses. “I had to win perfectly with no error… that was literally, like the margin of error that I was dealing with.”
Her comments offer new insight into her rapid departure from MMA following back-to-back losses in 2015 and 2016. Rousey’s revelations mark the first time she has publicly linked neurological health concerns to the end of her career.
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Ronda Rousey Discloses Neurological Condition That Ended Her UFC Career
