Ronda Rousey Career Timeline: From Olympics, the UFC, Movie Roles and Back to MMA

Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano are both coming out of retirement to fight on Netflix. Two of the biggest names in women's mixed martial arts history, it's been a long time since either had a real fight. Carano has been retired since 2009 and Rousey hasn't stepped inside a cage since 2016.

Despite the long layoff, the fact that they might finally meet is big news. Especially for Rousey who was once arguably the biggest star in the sport. If you weren't there it's almost hard to believe how big she was at her peak as she put people in armbars and started to appear on screens of every size.

Here's a look at the timeline of Rousey's rise and fall as she became a household name and then withdrew from the spotlight after two brutal losses.

2008 - Bronze for Team USA

Rousey got her start in judo where she won a number of domestic and international competitions. Ultimately, she competed for Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and took home a bronze medal in women's judo, becoming the first American woman to win a medal in judo in the process.

2010 - MMA Debut

In August '10 Rousey made her amateur MMA debut and won by armbar in 23 seconds. She won three amateur fights, all by armbar, all in less than a minute before she turned pro.

2011 - Professional Debut

By March '11 she made her professional MMA debut against Ediane Gome at at King of the Cage event in Tarzana, Calif. She won by armbar in less than a minute. That same month the UFC bought Strikeforce with the stated plan to continue to operate the promotion independently.

Rousey signed with Strikeforce later in the year and made her promotional debut in August. In November she beat Julia Budd to move to 4-0. All four of her professional fights ended with armbars in the first round.

2012 - Becomes Strikeforce Champion, Mainstream Breakthrough

After a 4-0 start to her career Rousey earned a shot at Miesha Tate's Strikeforce bantamweight belt. Tate became the first woman to last more than a minute with Rousey, but lost by armbar near the end of the first round as Rousey won her first career title. After beating Tate her career took off.

By the time she defended her title in August, Rousey had been in ESPN's Body Issue and appeared on Conan. She promptly went out and beat Sarah Kaufman by armbar in 54 seconds.

In November '12 Rousey became the first woman to ever sign with the UFC and they simply named her the inaugural women's bantamweight champion, rather than have her fight for the honor.

2013 - Earns UFC Championship

Rousey beat Liz Carmouche in the first women's bout in UFC history at UFC 157. Not long after Dana White said women would never fight in the UFC, Rousey was headlining a card and quickly became one of the promotion's biggest stars.

In December Rousey defended her title in a rematch against Miesha Tate. Rousey won by armbar in the third round to improve to 8-0 in her career. This is around the time Hollywood came calling.

2014 - Hollywood and Title Defenses

In February '14 Rousey again headlined a UFC card, this time beating Sara McMann via TKO. It was the first time in nine fights that Rousey had won by anything besides an armbar. Rousey was back in the octagon in July to defeat Alexis Davis by KO in just 16 seconds.

The Expendables 3 was released in August. Rousey—along with Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes, Glen Powell and boxer Victor Ortiz—joined the cast. None of them would be back for Expend4bles in '23.

Rousey also made her WWE debut in August '14, appearing at SummerSlam alongside Jessamyn Duke, Marina Shafir and Shayna Baszler as "The 4 HorseWomen of MMA."

2015 - Movie Star Loses to Holly Holm

In '15 she appeared in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and then submitted Cat Zingano at UFC 184. In April she appeared in Furious 7 and then in the summer was back on the big screen in the Entourage movie.

In August she beat Bethe Correia in 34 seconds at UFC 190.

At this point she was 12-0 in her career, 6-0 in the UFC and a six-time bantamweight champion. She announced her next fight on Good Morning America.

Rousey then fought Holly Holm in Australia on November 14, 2015.

Holm dominated the fight before finishing Rousey with a head kick and punches in the second round. Rousey would disappear into the woods after the fight to sort things out, as profiled by Ramona Shelburne for ESPN.

2016 - Brief Return, Quick Exit

Rousey returned to the limelight a few months later, hosting Saturday Night Live. She then appeared in the Swimsuit Issue again, this time in bodypaint as one of three cover athletes.

Rousey would return to the octagon by the end of the year to take on Amanda Nunes, who held the bantamweight championship after beating Miesha Tate over the summer. Nunes made quick work of Rousey, knocking her out in 48 seconds. The fight was called while Rousey was out on her feet.

That was it.

2018 - UFC Hall of Fame and Return to WWE

Rousey signed a contract with the WWE and showed up at the Royal Rumble in January '18. In April at WrestleMania 34 she appeared alongside Kurt Angle in a tag team match and submitted Stephanie McMahon via armbar. She would be with the WWE until 2023 before retiring. She eventually made some apperances in other promotions.

Rousey was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

2024 - Talking About Concussions

In an interview in 2024 Rousey spoke about how she retired because of concussions. Not just the trauma she suffered in her final two fights in the UFC, but because of the repeated head injuries she experienced in judo.

2026 - Return to the Cage?

On Febuary 17, 2026, more than nine full years after her last real fight, Rousey announced she would be returning to MMA to face Gina Carano.