Matt Brown doesn’t believe Ronda Rousey should be tempted back into the Octagon.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Rousey (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) recently got fans talking when she shared footage of herself training just eight months after the birth of her son. In the video, “Rowdy” can be seen hitting pads, sparking speculation that the former judo Olympian—who last fought when she was knocked out by Amanda Nunes in December 2016—might be considering a return to competitive action.
Former UFC welterweight Matt Brown, however, doesn’t think that would be a wise move, given how much the landscape of modern mixed martial arts has changed.
“We know everyone would get behind bringing Ronda Rousey back,” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “As big of a star as she was, yeah, f*ck yeah, everybody would be all about it. Whether they love her or hate her, we’ll watch 100 percent.
“(But) I would say the same thing with Conor (McGregor) … you cannot take that time off and expect to come back at a high level. Everybody else is working every day. This isn’t 1998 anymore where you can just kind of be a fighter in training camp and then chill and then come back. We’re not even talking about that. We’re talking about years off. She’ll get destroyed.”
Rousey became the inaugural bantamweight champion when the UFC first introduced women’s divisions in 2013. She cemented her status as an all-time great by winning six consecutive title fights over the next two and a half years—before things came undone in spectacular fashion.
Back-to-back knockout losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes ultimately led Rousey to walk away from the sport at just 29 years old. Brown believes she should leave her UFC career exactly where it belongs—in the past.
“Maybe they’ll find a matchup for her, like a Bethe Correia type or something,” Brown said. “There’s still those girls out there in those divisions, unfortunately. But no, you can’t take that kind of time off. There’s a point where you’ve just got to say I’m done. I’ve spent enough time away from the sport that coming back is not going to be a good option for me anymore, and Ronda’s past that point for sure. She’s got to know it, too.
“The only question with her is just her ego. She really thinks she’s the greatest fighter ever and she can probably take this time off and come back, but it doesn’t work that way. It just doesn’t. You take a certain amount of time off, it’s over. Everybody else is training every day. You’re going to get smashed in there.”
