RONDA Rousey may have suffered concussion during fight

The New York Post

 December 9,2015

RONDA Rousey’s defeat at the hands and feet of Holly Holm was shocking for any number of reasons, but one of the most inexplicable aspects was how the champ just didn’t look like herself throughout the fight.

Gone was the brutally powerful Rousey who many compared to a young Mike Tyson.

In her place was a fighter who was beaten to the punch and even failed to execute a simple Judo hip toss — Rousey’s signature Olympic-level move.

In her first post-fight interview, Rousey might have revealed why she wasn’t herself.

She may have sustained a concussion early in the first round at the hands of Holm, a former champion boxer.

“I got hit in that first round … I cut my lip open and knocked a couple of my teeth loose,” Rousey told ESPN The Magazine’s Ramona Shelburne. “I was out on my feet from the very beginning.

“I wasn’t thinking clearly,” Rousey continued, “I had that huge cut in my mouth and I just spit [the blood] out at my feet. Then they brought the bucket over and I’m like, ‘Why didn’t I spit it in the bucket?’ I never spit on the ground.

“It was like a dumbed-down dreamy version of yourself making decisions … I was just trying to shake myself out of it. I kept saying to myself, ‘You’re OK, keep fighting. You’re OK, keep fighting.’”

Rousey visits a laser treatment facility in Santa Monica, California, this week.

While no doctor has said publicly Rousey suffered a concussion during the fight — in fact, her camp denied it — her description of the action and the way she stumbled around the octagon matches classic concussion symptoms.

According to the Mayo Clinic, concussion symptoms include:

* Confusion or feeling as if in a fog

* Dizziness or “seeing stars”

* Appearing dazed

* Loss of balance and unsteady walking

Concussion or not, Rousey was beaten up so badly that she hid her face from the public for weeks after the fight. She was given a six-month medical suspension by the UFC due to the extent of her injuries.

Many of the worst injuries Rousey endured that night are emotional and psychological, the results of a precipitous tumble down from the very top of her sport.

“I always say you have to be willing to get your heart broken,” Rousey told ESPN.

“That’s just what f***ing happens when you try.”

Still, the 28-year-old is resolved to return to the ring and put a revenge whooping on Holm.

“I need to come back. I need to beat this chick,” Rousey said.

“Who knows if I’m going to pop my teeth out or break my jaw or rip my lip open. I have to f***ing do it.”