Former MMA fighter Ronda Rousey: concussions under the spotlight
By Kira Kunzman. This article was initially published in the 4/11/24 edition of our Concussion Update newsletter; please consider subscribing.
Ronda Rousey, a former MMA fighter, tells her story of her life-long experience with concussions and lasting health impacts in a recent interview with The Guardian. Reporter Donald McRae highlights Rousey’s remarkable accomplishments–her title as the “world’s most dominant athlete” (Sports Illustrated) and her achievement as the first woman to be signed by UFC. The article also focuses on the consequences of Rhonda participating in an extreme sport––multiple concussions creating long-term, ongoing symptoms, including confusion, pain, and mental health difficulties. As Rousey puts it, “I’d been compounding concussion after concussion for so many years.” Rousey’s new book, Our Fight, chronicles her career, parenting, and her struggle with concussions.
Rousey began training at a young age, with her mother as her coach. During this time, concussion research was not yet acknowledged in the public domain, and people would tell her, “Your head hurts? Suck it up.” For Rousey, having a concussion felt like a “personal weakness and not a neurological degeneration.” With her many previous concussions, Rousey’s strategy was to defeat her opponents as quickly as possible–to avoid the risk that they would hit her in the head. Rousey was ferocious and broke barriers for women in MMA fighting. However, in 2015, Rousey experienced her first defeat in front of 56,000 spectators during a UFC match against former boxer Holly Holm. Holm’s first punch gave Rousey a concussion before knocking Rousey out during the second round. That defeat, and another hard-hitting defeat in 2016, led Rousey to retire to protect her health.
Sports such as MMA promote a culture of toughness, which can lead to injuries––concussions in particular––to be disregarded. Rousey now worries about her health and thinks of a “future shrouded by concussions.” However, she also reflects positively on the situation, focusing on trying to “enjoy the moment and be happy where [she’s] at.”
