Ronda Rousey's Net Worth and Whether She'll Ever Return to Fighting

Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey's net worth is literally the result of her blood, sweat and tears. A former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, WWE wrestler and Olympic bronze medalist, Rousey was the first woman to be signed to the UFC. She paved the way for many more, as there are four women’s weight divisions in the UFC today.

"I was always asked about [UFC president] Dana [White] saying women would never be in the UFC," Rousey told Bleacher Report in 2013. "And I just said, 'Look, he has no choice about it. I'm going to make him love me. There's nothing he can do.' I was going to be so good and capture so much attention it's going to be impossible for him to ignore me.”

Known for her ferociousness on the mat, but also her adaptability to the screen, Rousey has successfully navigated her career post-UFC. This includes the release of her book, Our Fight: A Memoir, out now. The memoir chronicles Rousey’s rise to the top of women’s mixed martial arts, as well as her losses and struggles as an athlete in one of the most physically demanding sports.

Here’s a closer look at how much Rousey’s earned as a top fighter over the years, her net worth and whether she has plans on returning to the ring.

Related: Talk About Tough Love! All About Ronda Rousey's Marriage to Former UFC Fighter Travis Browne

How did Ronda Rousey get her start?

Like many UFC mixed martial artists, Rousey started out with expertise in just one: judo. Her mom, a gold medal-winning judoka at the 1984 World Championships, started teaching her the fundamentals at a young age. From there, Rousey joined the U.S. Olympic team at 15 and went on to win multiple championships.

"She was having a lot of trouble in school,” Rousey’s mom, Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, told Bleacher Report. “I thought, well, with judo at least you have to have a partner. She would have to go out and meet some other kids. Maybe that would help her? I guess it did."

Judo gave Rousey her first taste of athletic superstardom. Though she didn’t medal at the 2004 Olympics, she got her shot at redemption in 2008 and answered it with a bronze medal. She retired from competitive judo at 21 years old.

Where did Ronda Rousey go to school?

Although it’s not widely reported, Wikipedia states that Rousey attended Santa Monica High School, although she dropped out and later earned her GED. According to the Bleacher Report interview, Rousey struggled with school and had a difficult childhood; experiencing an early speech delay and the sudden death of her father at age 8.

What martial arts does Ronda Rousey do?

Rousey’s foundational training was in judo and that’s what she’s best at. Her trademark arm bar allowed her to submit almost all of her opponents in her early MMA and UFC fights, and her ability to submit them fast made her a star.

“Judo is called the 'Gentle Way' because it was modified from the original jiu jitsu. Those Samurai martial arts that they would do to kill each other,” Rousey explained in a 2012 Bleacher Report article. “Gentle in comparison is no one dies. 'Judo the gentle way. No one dies!' It's just like MMA that way. It's controlled so no one dies. In that way, MMA is as much the gentle way as judo is.”

What is Ronda Rousey's net worth in 2024?

Ronda Rousey’s 2024 net worth is estimated at $14 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

How much did Ronda Rousey get paid for UFC fighting?

A lawsuit against the UFC in 2023 revealed many fighters’ wages between 2011 and 2016, a period which encompasses Rousey’s UFC career. Court documents cite that Rousey was paid $13 million for seven UFC fights, six of which she won.

Rousey, however, fought eight total matches in the UFC. Her final fight, a loss against Amanda Nunes at the end of 2016, earned her a payout of $3 million, according to CBS Sports. That would bring her total UFC compensation to around $16 million.

Sports Illustrated reported a slightly different figure, but even taking into account this separate report, Rousey’s total winnings still came out to more than $15 million.

Related: Gymnast Simone Biles' Net Worth in 2024 Would Have the Rest of Us Doing Back Flips

Is Ronda Rousey the highest-paid woman UFC fighter?

Although UFC earnings are not always disclosed to the public, Rousey is probably the highest-paid woman to have ever fought for the company. She’s confirmed to have made about $15-$16 million from 2012 to 2016.

In comparison, Amanda Nunes, long-reigning former women’s bantamweight champ, who defeated Rousey in just 48 seconds, is estimated to have earned about $8.3 million over the course of her 10-year UFC career.

This wage difference is a useful demonstration of how the UFC works as a company. It’s also the reason women didn’t compete in the UFC for so long—it was assumed they couldn’t bring the same fanfare and therefore, make the same profit, as male fighters. Rousey bucked this notion with her dangerous fighting style and even her attitude outside the ring, as she would often trash-talk her opponents before matches. Her total dominance of her division, albeit only for a short time, led to some of the most anticipated matches in UFC history, and subsequently earned her much more than other female fighters.

Is Ronda Rousey still in the WWE?

Rousey made her WWE debut in 2018, left in 2019, then returned for a second run in 2022. However, she retired again in 2023 and doesn’t seem to have further WWE aspirations.

How much was Ronda Rousey's WWE contract?

During her second run with the WWE, Rousey reportedly commanded a salary of $1.5 million, or an estimated $2.1 million when accounting for bonuses and merchandise sales. This made her one of the highest-paid WWE female wrestlers.

How much does Ronda Rousey make from endorsements?

Endorsements are a huge part of an athlete’s earnings and Rousey is no exception. Although it’s not known what she makes now, if anything, after her retirement from both the UFC and WWE, Rousey has earned big bucks in the past. In a Forbes list of the world’s highest-paid female athletes of 2015, the publication reported that Rousey made $3.5 million for endorsements that year.

Why did Ronda Rousey retire?

Rousey’s new memoir sheds some light on why she chose to retire from fighting. It details her years-long history with concussions and how it impacted her career.

“[...] In my judo career out of like 10 years, I had concussion symptoms more often than not. This is before all the research about CTE and everything was out,” Rousey told ABC News Live. “And so by the time that I got into MMA, every time you get a concussion, it's easier to get another one. And, I quickly discovered in MMA, any kind of significant strike, I'd be seeing stars, getting concussion symptoms. So I had to develop a system of fighting that was more efficient than anything I had ever seen before. So I would not get [...] touched at all because I just knew I couldn't take that kind of damage. And, it just continued to get worse and worse.”

Before her first UFC loss, Rousey said she slipped down some stairs, tore her knee and concussed herself.

“I didn't want to say anything to my coach or Dana [White] about it because I thought they would make me stop and I wasn't ready to stop,” Rousey added. “I thought I could just continue to be perfect forever, that I could continue to win without being touched forever.”

After two consecutive losses, Rousey left the UFC to focus on her burgeoning film career. She was also a WWE wrestler for several years. Now, she’s focused on raising her daughter alongside her husband, UFC fighter Travis Browne.

Is Ronda Rousey coming back to the UFC in 2024?

Rousey has revealed no plans to return to either the UFC or WWE in 2024. With the release of her memoir, she actually mentioned writing as her next big endeavor.

“I've started writing a lot creatively,” she said to ABC News Live. “I'm an intern at the WME story department. I [...] read and write coverages of scripts and things. And my first comic book is coming out soon, and it's just stuff that I really enjoy and I'm a big nerd for. And it's not something to impress anybody. But the act in itself is so rewarding for me. So I do it.”

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