Chael Sonnen rules out Ronda Rousey's UFC return, warns: 'The sport is done with her'

R. Rousey has been retired from MMA since 2016. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook RondaRousey

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After Ronda Rousey posted some videos on social media showing her training with mitts with new coaches and confessing to "rediscovering her love for the sport," many fans around the world began speculating about the judoka's return to the octagon, possibly at the event scheduled for the White House in July 2026. Despite the expectations, Chael Sonnen was one of the personalities in the sport who publicly addressed the issue with disapproval and distrust.

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In a video published on his YouTube channel last Monday (22), the American Gangster did not show himself hopeful for a new chapter in Ronda's MMA career, in addition to mentioning the traumatic way in which the former bantamweight champion (up to 61.2 kg) said goodbye to the sport.

"There's this idea that when someone starts training and they sweat a little bit, they're touted as coming back, but then an adult comes into the room and says, 'Hey, it's not a comeback. You were forced out.' It's not retirement when they throw you out of the Octagon," Sonnen said.

Chael Sonnen in a YouTube video. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube

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Continuing his line of reasoning, the former fighter expressed empathy by citing the desire all athletes have to continue competing at the highest level. However, he also stated that, with few exceptions, most of them find themselves excluded from major competitions after negative results.

“There’s never a day when you want to quit this sport. You’ll wake up one day and find out that the sport has ended with you, with three exceptions: Georges St-Pierre, Khabib (Nurmagomedov), and Jon Jones . They all had belts, they all left at the top, and they were all wanted and welcomed to stay, and they made their own decision not to leave,” concluded Sonnen, who also ended his career with a knockout loss.

Ronda Rousey is an MMA legend

Ronda entered the UFC Hall of Fame. Photo: Reproduction / Twitter UFC

After changing the media landscape of MMA as a whole in the last decade as champion and inaugurating the women's categories in the UFC starting in 2013, Ronda experienced a precipitous drop in results and popularity after being knocked out by Holly Holm in 2015. The following year, the American returned against Amanda Nunes and was once again dominated. Since then, she has not competed professionally and has dedicated herself to pro-wrestling and other activities. She was inducted into the Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Fame in 2018.

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