Andrew Ravens
Ronda Rousey’s return to MMA after nearly a decade away has sparked nostalgiabut it has also raised serious questions about her long-term neurological health. The former UFC bantamweight champion and Olympic judoka had previously attributed the end of her career to repeated concussionsmaking her comeback against Gina Carano a surprising announcement.
HoweverRousey recently shared her medical journeydisclosing a diagnosis that has cleared the path for her return to the cage. During an appearance on The Jim Rome ShowRousey detailed the process of seeking medical clearancewhich began with a conversation with UFC CEO Dana White. Despite not coming to a financial agreement to promote the fight under the UFC bannerWhite played a crucial role in getting Rousey the help she needed.
“When I first approached Danahe was like ‘first of allI want to make sure that you’re OK,’” Rousey said. “He sent me to the Cleveland Clinicwhere they have a long-term neurological fighter study going on. They checked medid every single test possible to check meand I actually finally got a positive diagnosis.”
The doctors at the Cleveland Clinic discovered that Rousey’s symptoms—which included losing large chunks of her visiondepth perceptionand cognitive clarity—were not necessarily the result of new concussions. By examining her lifelong history of migraines and a family history of epilepsyDr. Charles Bernick connected the dots.
Ronda Rousey record: 12-2 (3 knockouts9 submissions)
Rousey explained“What he thinks is happening is that I’m not actually getting a concussion every single time that this is happening. He thinks it’s setting off what’s called migraine aurawhere you just lose big chunks of your visionand it’s called cortical spreading depression. Where I guess your neurons get overly excited and depolarize and shut down in a waveand that’s why I lose chunks of my vision when I’m getting hit.”
This diagnosis was a significant relief for Rouseywho feared she was suffering from severeirreversible brain damage or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
“To meI was likeI’m not dying! CTE isn’t coming to get me!” Rousey shared enthusiastically. “There’s actually stuff we can do about it. At firstwe couldn’t find any preventative migraine medication; it’s usually stuff to be used after the fact. Just recentlywe’ve been able to find something that I can take that’s preventative that will hopefully be able to resolve this issue for me. It’s life-changing.”
Equipped with this knowledge and a new preventative medication regimenRousey feels confident stepping back into competitionthough she joked her game plan remains the same:
“Of courseI’m going to be going into the fight with the intention of not getting hit once because that’s basically what I’ve had to do my entire career.”
The highly anticipated clash between Rousey and Carano is officially scheduled for May 162026at the Intuit Dome in InglewoodCalifornia.
