What disease did Ronda Rousey's father have?

Ronda Rousey's father Ron Rousey suffered from a rare blood disease similar to hemophilia. The blood disorder rendered him unable to recover from a back injury.

Ron Rousey committed suicide when his daughter was eight years old, after learning that his injury would only get worse and he would eventually become a paraplegic, losing the motor functions of his lower body.

In a 2018 interview with Tyler Henry of E! Entertainment, the UFC Hall of Famer opened up about her tragic loss:

"My dad, he had broke his back, he happened to have a really rare blood disorder that kept him from healing, similar to hemophilia... So he was slowly, for years, getting platelet transfusions and trying to put rods in his back and everything. Eventually, they said, ‘You’re going to be a paraplegic and then a quadriplegic and then you’re going to die. And there’s nothing we can do about it.'”

The former UFC champion added that after getting the disheartening news, her father felt like he was a burden to the family and took his own life:

“And so my dad decided to take matters into his own hands because he was in a huge amount of pain everyday... he felt like he was just a drag on the family. And he was very much a person who takes care of everyone. And he drove his car out and he put a hose in the exhaust.”

Watch the interview with Ronda Rousey below:

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Ronda Rousey opens up on how she coped with the loss of her father

In the same interview, Ronda Rousey explained how she coped with the loss of her beloved father. An emotional Rousey stated that she would just tell herself that her father was on a business trip and would be back soon:

"I was eight years old. I remember that when he passed, I would like, tell myself that he was on a business trip and he'd be back. And that was my way to cope with it."

Despite her soul-crushing loss, Rousey went on to become one of the most successful combat sports athletes in history. In 2012, the former Olympic bronze medalist became the UFC's inaugural women's bantamweight champion.

She went on to defend her UFC strap six times. Since stepping away from MMA, Rousey has ventured into pro wrestling and is currently signed to the WWE.