Despite having one of the most important and iconic runs in the sport’s history, Ronda Rousey has never returned to a UFC fight night after retiring.

The former bantamweight champion went undefeated for 12 fights, and was credited with being the driving force behind bringing women to the UFC. But after losing two on the bounce against Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm, she unceremoniously hung up the gloves.

Since then, she has trained sporadically while pursuing other avenues including acting and multiple runs in the WWE. But aside from a brief appearance to accept an Hall of Fame induction, she has steered clear of the MMA world since.

Ronda Rousey feels she is ‘vilified’ and ‘not welcome’ in MMA after retirement

Rousey was one of the most brash and outspoken characters during a UFC era that featured the likes of Chael Sonnen and an emerging Conor McGregor. But once she fell to a shock defeat against Holm, she became a recluse until her next fight against Nunes, which saw her sent into retirement within seconds.

And she feels that the media covering MMA made her out to be a villain in their coverage as she struggled to come to terms with her new position as a challenger.

Asked on the High Performance podcast why she wasn’t welcomed back to the sport, she replied: “I don’t know, ask the MMA media that. They are the ones saying it.”

Asked what exactly had been said, she answered: “That I was a fraud and I was hype and I was exposed and I was never anything and just lucky and all of these things. And that I wasn’t gracious or a good loser, or every other thing that I just assume at this point because I don’t take the time to read it.

“Everything that could be said that was negative was said and I feel like I’m really vilified by MMA media at this point and I’m not really welcomed back.

“Which is why I haven’t gone to a UFC fight since, because I’m pretty sure if I walked into the arena, I’d be booed.” When the show’s hosts scoffed at the idea, she replied: “Yeah! That’s how it feels.”

Ronda Rousey admits she has been affected by media critiques after UFC career

Despite building multiple other careers as an actor and a WWE wrestler among other ventures, Rousey does get upset when she thinks about how she is treated in the MMA world. She feels that what she gave to the sport is not appreciated, and despite not wanting to be affected, clearly is.

Asked why it upset her so much, Rousey replied: “I guess I wish it didn’t but I gave them everything I had and that wasn’t enough.

“But that’s why a lot of people don’t give everything that they have because they don’t want to face it if it wasn’t enough. But I realised it was enough for me but not for people on the outside. But it was really wasn’t for them.”