Ronda Rousey is eyeing a sensational return to combat sports, with the former UFC star reportedly in talks to face boxing icon Katie Taylor in a crossover megafight.
The comeback chatter hasn’t stopped, and now it looks like there’s some substance behind it. Boxing Scene reported on Monday that a Rousey-Taylor boxing match is being pieced together for 2026 in Las Vegas.
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The report didn’t reveal which promoter would front the event, but noted the matchup has already caught Netflix’s eye.
Now 38, Rousey ruled the UFC bantamweight division before retiring in 2016, and in recent years she’s mostly stayed out of the public eye.
A brief move into pro wrestling and film projects appeared to close the door on any comeback — but interest in a high-profile return has quietly gathered momentum of late.
Taylor, meanwhile, is one of the most accomplished fighters in the history of women’s boxing.
The Irish superstar, an Olympic gold medallist and former undisputed champion, has shown openness to crossover-style events as she enters the final chapter of her career.
It’s not yet known if Rousey could be cleared to step back in the ring should a fight with Taylor be confirmed. In her 2024 autobiography, she cited serious traumatic brain injuries as the main reason she walked away from fighting.
To make matters even tougher, Rousey has zero professional boxing bouts under her belt and would be squaring off with a true legend of the sport.
UFC pioneer Tom Lawlor is already warning fans about the huge skill gap between Rousey and Taylor in the boxing ring.
“Katie Taylor is inarguably the best current female boxer, maybe the best female boxer of all time,” he said on Wrestling Observer Radio.
”I struggled to think of a mismatch this would be akin to, and I am still struggling.
“Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor was certainly a closer fight than this would be.”
“Ronda Rousey is not known for her striking ability or her ability to handle punches. And this is something that she herself has alluded to in interviews.
“There’s talk about what is Ronda Rousey doing. She’s back in shape, she’s training all the time. Is she going to compete again?”
“This is the last thing I would expect her name to pop up in. We’ve got Jake Paul taking on Anthony Joshua soon – I think that’s a closer fight.”
Even so, the fight’s commercial draw is obvious. A Rousey-Taylor matchup would pit two trailblazers against each other: Rousey, who helped bring women’s MMA to the global spotlight, and Taylor, widely regarded as one of the finest female boxers in history.
Lately, Rousey has fueled speculation about a return through interviews and training clips on social media, though she hasn’t committed to stepping back into competition.
Rousey made the jump to MMA in 2011 after winning a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and had immediate success.
Within just a year of her debut in the sport, Rousey became Strikeforce women’s champion and started to build a reputation as one of the most dominant finishers to ever step into the Octagon.
The following year she became the UFC’s first female champ – and would go on to defend her championship strap an astonishing six times.
Rousey appeared on magazine covers, on talk shows and in Hollywood movies. For a couple of years, she wasn’t just one of the biggest stars in the UFC, she was one of the biggest athletes around the globe.
That all began to crumble in 2015 after her stunning knockout loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in Melbourne – the most-attended UFC event in history at the time.
Another loss, to Amanda Nunes the following year, saw her fall further from her perch.
After that night, Rousey refused media obligations, vanished from the sport altogether, and later reinvented herself in WWE.
In October this year, she lashed out at MMA fans for turning their backs on champions the moment they experienced defeat.
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“MMA fans and media are the most what have you done lately for us crowd of any sport,” Rousey told Bert Kreischer on his podcast.
“You look at WWE and they have such a reverence for their legends. In MMA, it’s like the second that you’re not on top, you’re not s**t and you never were s**t.”