Following Ronda Rousey‘s stunning 48-second loss to Amanda Nunes in Las Vegas at UFC 207 on Friday night, Rousey’s mother, AnnMaria De Mars, expressed hope her daughter would consider retirement.
As seen in this video courtesy of TMZ Sports, De Mars cautioned against making any “snap decisions” but said she would like to see Rousey retire and wanted her to do so “a long time ago”:
De Mars, who is a former judo champion, said she told Rousey to “let the stupid people get punched in the face” because of her daughter’s intelligence and talent in other areas.
Rousey began her career 12-0 and was the first UFC women’s bantamweight champion, but after dropping the title to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November 2015, she took a yearlong hiatus from the Octagon and pursued acting.
The defeat to Nunes marked her second consecutive loss, and while Rousey has yet to comment on her future, retirement speculation has been buzzing.
When asked about her status, UFC President Dana White was unsure if she would fight again, according to ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto: “I don’t know. Ronda obviously needs to go home and take some time. She’s very rich. She doesn’t need to fight anymore. She’s super competitive. Maybe she wants to; I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”
Rousey told Ellen DeGeneres on Ellen in November (h/t Jason Diamond of Rolling Stone) that the Nunes bout would be one of her last fights, and it stands to reason that the loss could have accelerated the process.
Should Rousey opt to step away from the sport, she has plenty of other options, including acting, writing and perhaps professional wrestling with WWE.
Rousey has been paramount in putting women’s MMA on the map, but with her counterparts seemingly closing the significant gap she once created between herself and the rest of the division, her time in the UFC may be winding down.
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