Andrew Ravens
Ronda Rousey’s return to MMA after nearly a decade away has sparked nostalgia, but 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 concussions, making her comeback against Gina Carano a surprising announcement.
However, Rousey recently shared her medical journey, disclosing a diagnosis that has cleared the path for her return to the cage. During an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, Rousey detailed the process of seeking medical clearance, which began with a conversation with UFC CEO Dana White. Despite not coming to a financial agreement to promote the fight under the UFC banner, White played a crucial role in getting Rousey the help she needed.
“When I first approached Dana, he was like ‘first of all, I want to make sure that you’re OK,’” Rousey said. “He sent me to the Cleveland Clinic, where they have a long-term neurological fighter study going on. They checked me, did every single test possible to check me, and 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 vision, depth perception, and cognitive clarity—were not necessarily the result of new concussions. By examining her lifelong history of migraines and a family history of epilepsy, Dr. Charles Bernick connected the dots.
Ronda Rousey record: 12-2 (3 knockouts, 9 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 aura, where you just lose big chunks of your vision, and it’s called cortical spreading depression. Where I guess your neurons get overly excited and depolarize and shut down in a wave, and that’s why I lose chunks of my vision when I’m getting hit.”
This diagnosis was a significant relief for Rousey, who feared she was suffering from severe, irreversible brain damage or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
“To me, I was like, I’m not dying! CTE isn’t coming to get me!” Rousey shared enthusiastically. “There’s actually stuff we can do about it. At first, we couldn’t find any preventative migraine medication; it’s usually stuff to be used after the fact. Just recently, we’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 regimen, Rousey feels confident stepping back into competition, though she joked her game plan remains the same:
“Of course, I’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 16, 2026, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
