There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding Ronda Rousey’s state of mind lately. Before her fight with Holly Holm at UFC 193, she was everywhere; interviewed in every magazine and popping up on half the channels on television. Then on Saturday, she got knocked out and lost her belt. Since then, we’ve had a short Instagram message from her assuring fans she’s okay, and a quick dash through the airport where she literally hid her face from the media.
Now it’s been announced by the UFC that she’s being medically suspended for six months, and many are wondering if the suspension is a smokescreen to give Rousey some time off. The facts via UPI:
Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, who was knocked out and lost her title to Holly Holm at UFC 193 on Saturday, received a 6-month medical suspension that could be cut to 60 days if she passes a CT scan. Rousey may have suffered a brain injury and was taken to the hospital following the loss. She reportedly will need plastic surgery on her lip.
But here’s the real deal: Mixed martial arts is a violent sport, and injuries happen regularly in fights. For that reason, every fighter that steps into the cage at a sanctioned event also gets looked over by a doctor afterwards. This happens backstage and the results are given to the athletic commission and filed to make sure a fighter who was knocked out one weekend doesn’t get back in the cage the next week.
Medical suspensions are always somewhat vague and err on the side of caution. UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk was also medically suspended for six months because she broke her hand. But that suspension can be lifted immediately if she provides proof she was cleared by an orthopedic doctor. Likewise, Rousey hasn’t been suspended for six months; she’s been suspended for 60 days (the standard time a fighter gets suspended after suffering a knockout) and can come back earlier than six months with a CT scan.
It’s all standard operating procedure amongst commissions, and in regions where a proper athletic commission with combat sports protocols doesn’t exist, the UFC steps in and runs things the same way. They’re well equipped to do this since their head of regulatory affairs, Marc Ratner, ran the Nevada State Athletic Commission for more than 20 years. The state of Victoria, which just removed a ban on cagefighting months ago… not so much.
So, don’t believe the rumors; the UFC isn’t medically suspending Rousey as some strange excuse to give her time off. Their plan since UFC 193 has been a rematch between Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm at UFC 200 in July. That’s where we’re at, and any other claims are just nonsense coming from people who don’t understand how the medical suspension system in MMA works.
