Ronda Rousey Roasts UFC, Says MMA Giant Should Pay Better

Ronda Rousey is not biting her tongue about the alleged unfair wages paid to the average UFC fighter.

Ronda Rousey has always been synonymous with the UFC, but as she gears up for a long-awaited matchup with fellow MMA trailblazer Gina Carano on May 16, she’s making it clear — the organization she once called home isn’t the same one she left.

At a press event Tuesday promoting the Netflix fight, the former bantamweight champion recounted how she tried to hold the bout under the UFC banner. She approached Dana White with the idea first, out of loyalty as much as business sense.

“I told him I could promote the fight myself, but I’d rather fight for him than against him,” Rousey said. “At first, we thought we’d wrap it into the UFC’s last pay-per-view show around New Year’s, but when Gina needed extra time to get ready, everything shifted — and honestly, it worked out for the better.”

Rousey said the UFC’s new direction under its multibillion-dollar streaming deal with Paramount has changed the company’s priorities. “It’s not about putting on the best fights anymore,” she said. “It’s about shareholders and quarterly profits. The UFC I knew doesn’t really exist.”

The deal, valued at $7.7 billion, moved the promotion away from its traditional pay-per-view model — and sparked debate over how fighters are compensated. Rousey, 39, said she doesn’t blame White for the shift, crediting him as one of the few still looking out for fighters’ interests.

“When they couldn’t pay me a fair deal under the new model, Dana told me to go do my own thing,” she said. “He wanted me to win — even if that meant doing it somewhere else. That’s what real mentorship looks like.”

According to Rousey, even White has grown frustrated with some of the UFC’s recent moves — like June’s much-hyped “White House” card. “He knows that one didn’t live up to expectations,” she said. “He’s not shy about saying so either.”

Rousey believes those missteps point to a deeper problem: a business model that’s squeezing fighters while chasing short-term corporate gains. She argued that some of today’s athletes are paid so little they can’t sustain their careers.

“This is a company worth billions,” she said. “There’s no reason fighters should be struggling to pay their bills while executives cash out. That’s not how you grow a sport — that’s how you kill one.”

Her comments echo a growing sentiment among top fighters, including Jon Jones, who recently asked to be released from his UFC contract after missing out on a high-profile spot on the White House card.

Once seen as the sport’s ultimate destination, Rousey now sees the UFC as a place forcing its best talent to look elsewhere — whether to boxing, streaming promotions, or independent ventures.

“For me, this fight with Gina isn’t just about coming back,” she said. “It’s about proving there are other ways to build this sport — and that fighters don’t have to wait for permission to do it.”

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