MMA icon Ronda Rousey is seemingly still harboring a grudge against Joe Rogan – even almost a decade on from her exit from the octagon.
Rousey, 38, left UFC in 2016 with sour feelings towards the color commentator, who she suggested had shown her a lack of respect at the tail end of her career.
And nine years on, it appears her sentiment hasn’t changed as she reignited her feud with the divisive podcaster this week.
During an appearance on the ‘Bertcast Podcast’ with Bert Kreischer, Rousey had harsh criticism for Rogan, who has been with the UFC since its early years in the 1990s.
Kreischer asked Rousey, sporting a black eye, what she would need to be given in order to return to the octagon. In response, she joked that only a $1billion payout would seal the deal.
Yet, she changed her mind just moments later when she quipped that would ‘beat the s***’ out of Kreischer in his own backyard for his house.
MMA icon Ronda Rousey (left) reignited her feud with UFC commentator Joe Rogan (right)
Rousey took a dig at Rogan on the ‘Bertcast Podcast’ with Bert Kreischer this week
Her comment sent Kreischer into a fit of laughter as he asked how long he would get to train before claiming that he would have to turn to Rogan for advice on how to beat Rousey.
‘He wouldn’t know,’ Rousey replied bluntly. ‘He’s not an expert, he’s a fan with an audience. … [He] never fought!’
Kreischer attempted a half-hearted defense of his friend as he argued that Rogan had competitive experience in Taekwondo as well as being a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.
But Rousey hit back, insisting that Rogan’s Taekwondo skills didn’t count as fighting.
Rogan has never formally fought in the octagon, however, through his proximity to the sport as its longtime commentator, Rogan does have some knowledge and expertise on the UFC.
He was also scheduled to fight in the UFC against actor Wesley Snipes in 2005, and was training for the bout but it ultimately did not materialize.
Rousey has made previous digs at Rogan, as she accused him of turning on her towards the end of her UFC career.
‘It was really disappointing to see how happily everybody turned on me and how people like Joe Rogan, who were crying in the ring about the honor of being able to call my fights, people I considered friends in the media, so quickly turned on me,’ Rousey said last year to Chris Cuomo.
Rousey cemented herself in UFC lore as the promotion’s first female champion – a title she successfully defended six times before retiring in 2016.
Rousey retired from UFC in 2016 after back-to-back losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes
The 38-year-old former fighter enjoyed successful stints in UFC and the WWE
She became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo by winning bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
She began her MMA career in 2011 with King of the Cage before shortly joining Strikeforce.
Nicknamed ‘Rowdy’, she won the Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight title in her fifth fight and fifth straight win as a professional MMA fighter. She kept the title up until the UFC brought out the promotion.
Upon acquiring the entire Strikeforce roster, Dana White crowned Rousey the UFC women’s bantamweight queen—a title she successfully defended six times as her stardom took off to unprecedented heights.
She went 12-0 in MMA before losing to Holly Holm via second-round KO with a head kick in 2015.
Over one year later, she was gifted a title fight in her UFC return before losing to Amanda Nunes in 48 seconds without landing a significant strike.
Following her legendary MMA career, Rousey had a successful five-year run with WWE that ended in 2023.
