Ronda Rousey‘s dominating three-year reign atop the UFC women’s bantamweight division was brought to a sudden halt by Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November 2015. Holm knocked out Rousey with a head kick early in the second round sending shockwaves throughout the combat sports world.
Rousey returned to the cage after nearly a decade away on May 16 against fellow women’s mixed martial arts trailblazer Gina Carano in the first Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix promoted MMA event. The bout grabbed public attention and drew solid numbers on the streaming platform.
Rousey tapped Carano out with her signature armbar just 17 seconds into the fight. Holm was asked about Rousey’s return during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“I wasn’t shocked when she came back with this fight. I think maybe deep down there’s just always this hunger that she had to want to get back in there and get a win. It didn’t surprise me that she wanted to. She’s been active, still doing, you know, physical things. She’s still been performing. She’s still been doing her thing, living her life. So, it didn’t shock me that she came back,” said Holm.
“I didn’t think she would. You know, if you said, ‘Do you think Ronda will fight again?’ I’m not sure if she would … I wasn’t shocked. I just wouldn’t have, I guess, I wouldn’t have guessed it.”
Holm is always skeptical when she hears a former champion, or someone that has reached the level of the Olympics, announcing their retirement.
“I feel like any, let’s just say this, any fighter has it in them, especially if they’ve been a champion. And with her, she’s been an Olympian. She’s been a champion. And if you have that in you, any fighter that ever says they’re retired or done, I don’t ever really believe the because they have that in them,” Holm said. And so, for her to comeback, she just felt she wanted to do something competitive like that again and push herself.”z