Ronda Rousey Explains UFC's Lack Of Involvement In Carano Fight

Ronda Rousey's upcoming fight with Gina Carano will headline the first-ever all-MMA card presented by Jake Paul's MVP organization, but MVP weren't the first party that Rousey took the fight to. Given her history with the company, Rousey originally pitched the idea to the UFC, specifically Dana White and Hunter Campbell, but during a recent interview with Complex, Rousey explained why the UFC, but more specifically Campbell, weren't high on the idea of Rousey vs. Carano.

"They gave me a great deal for their last ever pay-per-view fight card, but it was them switching over to the streaming model, and Hunter Campbell being the new leadership in the company, he actively tried to sabotage this fight," Rousey said. "[He] tried to misrepresent Gina saying she wasn't serious, that she wasn't going to make the weight, he was trying to get me to fight other people, he was basically like just s******* on us and the marketability of our fight."

Rousey explained that the idea the UFC presented to her and Carano was that they would fight over the UFC Women's Featherweight Championship, a title that had been inactive since 2023. Rousey said that White wanted to use the fight as a way to officially retire the belt as the 145 pound women's division doesn't really exist anymore. However, the way Campbell talked about the title and the division left Rousey furious. "Hunter was like 'Yeah then we could finally get rid of that division,' and like the disdain that he spoke of it, I'm like 'Motherf***** you're the promoter okay? If it's not doing well it's your fault.'"

Rousey went on to say that there are still great female fighters competing in the featherweight division, and that she hopes one day her two daughters could compete at 145 pounds given that she thinks they will both grow up to be much bigger than her. She rounded off by saying that even her own mother isn't a fan of Campbell following their interactions, which ultimately led to Rousey taking the Carano fight into her own hands.

The period of time where Ronda Rousey was on top of the UFC is considered by many as one of the most star-studded eras in the history of the sport. She was defending her UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship at the same time as Conor McGregor's rise to fame, Jon Jones' domination of the light heavyweight division, and the UFC becoming a mainstream sport, but these days the star power in the UFC is a lot more scarce. Rousey was asked about this and she believes that the UFC doesn't want people to be as big as they were a few years ago.

"I think that they don't want that star power anymore, they want the brand to be the star," Rousey said. "That's why they stopped naming the fights cards and started giving them numbers. That's why they started putting everybody in a uniform and trying to stamp out their individuality, they want people to watch the brand. That's why when you have big stars like Nate Diaz and Francis Ngannou knowing their worth and demanding more money, they're telling them to go kick rocks instead of paying them what they're worth because they think that they're too big to fail, and that there's nowhere else to go."

Rousey believes that the powers that be in the UFC don't want any fighter eclipsing the company in terms of popularity ever again as it would give that fighter leverage over the UFC. This is why Rousey is such a big fan of what Jake Paul and MVP have been doing with things like the Mike Tyson fight in 2025, bringing combat sports back to people getting attached to the fighters, and paying to see the individuals rather than the letters that are attached to the event.

Please credit "Complex" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.