Ronda Rousey details why UFC negotiations broke down for Gina Carano fight.
Ronda Rousey says it is “no longer in the UFC’s best interest to put on the best fights possible.”
Rousey was a guest on The Jim Rome Show on Friday and was asked why the UFC is not promoting her fight with Gina Carano. Rousey responded that she had originally worked out a deal with Dana White that would have made her more money per pay-per-view buy than any other fighter in history. However, she said the company was unwilling to guarantee her the money she believed she deserved once the pay-per-view structure shifted amid its streaming deal with ESPN.
Rousey said:
“I went to (Dana White) and said, ‘Dude, you always say that I’m the best fighter you ever worked with. Like, reward me for it. Don’t punish me for being easy to work with. Give me the best deal you ever gave anybody.'”
“He came back and he literally brought me the a deal where I would make more per pay-per-view buy than anybody in history.”
“It happened to go to the other side of when ESPN deal and their pay-per-view model would be ending and they would be going to streaming.”
“They didn’t want to set a precedent of giving me the guaranteed money that I deserve because once I raise that tide it lifts all the boats.”
“It’s in their best interest actually not to put on the best fights possible, but to spend as little as money as possible so that they can keep it.”
Rousey added that the UFC is focused on “the most cost effective fights possible” rather than “putting on the best fights possible,” which she said led her to explore other options for the Carano fight.
“It no longer made sense for for me to go over there because they didn’t want to pay us the money that we deserve because then for the rest of the the time of the deal, they’re going to have to pay everybody else more. And so then I decided to look elsewhere.”
Rousey vs. Carano is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, 2026, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. The event is being promoted by Most Valuable Promotions and will stream live on Netflix.
Rousey’s full appearance on The Jim Rome Show is available below, with the video queued to her comments about the negotiations with Dana White and the UFC.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.