Why Ronda Rousey needed a plastic surgeon

Ronda Rousey receives medical treatment after being defeated by Holly Holm. Photo/Getty Images

UFC President Dana White has revealed Ronda Rousey's split lip was the reason she needed to see a plastic surgeon following her shock loss to Holly Holm in Melbourne.

Upon her return to the US three days after her loss at UFC193, Rousey was photographed and filmed walking through Los Angeles airport desperately trying to hide her face.

Speculation was rife that the former UFC bantamweight champion had suffered a broken jaw as a result of her punishing defeat to Holm, but White insists those claims are false.

White explained it was Rousey's split lip that prompted him to fly the best plastic surgeon in Australia into Melbourne to work on her mouth.

"There's nothing wrong with Ronda," White told The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast.

"She had a huge f***ing cut on her lip. Her lip was split open and I was there and I was like, 'we don't want a doctor sewing that f***ing lip up.' What's her lip going to look like if a doctor sewed it up?

"We brought in the best plastic surgeon from Australia (straight after the fight). He came in and sewed her lip up and her lip looks awesome."

The 28-year-old's set to spend the next eight months working on a number of projects including a television series and film.

Rousey's set to star in the reboot of cult classic Road House, in the role made famous by Patrick Swayze, but first she's gearing up for her debut lead role in the action film Mile 22, which co-stars Mark Wahlberg.

White said with her movie career to consider, the plastic surgeon had sown her up using interior stitching which reduces the likelihood of scarring.

"They sew it from the inside out," he explained.

"Plastic surgeons are just so much better than doctors ... a doctor will come in and stitch Ronda's lip but Ronda's lip is going to look weird.

"In fighting, cuts need to be sewn up the right way. Not only cosmetically but if you're going to continue to fight, you have to sew them up so they don't continue to rip open all the time and get a lot of scar tissue."

While it's been speculated that Rousey could retire from fighting, White believes the Holm loss will only make her stronger.

"She's the most mentally strong athlete that I've met in my life," White said.

"When she gets over this loss she's going to be a savage. She was a maniac and a hard worker when she was the best in the world.

"What's she going to be like now that she's lost? The thing that makes this fight great again is now everybody knows how talented Holly Holm is and that's she's legit and a workhorse too.

"They're going to clash again and their second fight is going to be f***ing awesome."

Rousey has laid low since the loss, only taking to Instagram once to thanks her fans for their support.

White intends to give her a month to recover before raising the idea of returning to fighting.

"Normally when fighters come off a fight like the Ronda fight - you don't even talk to them about fighting [for] probably a month," he said.

"In a month you call and say 'hey what's going on? What are you thinking?'.

"I'll see her [this week] in person but we won't talk about fighting."