MMA: Ronda Rousey skewers UFC's parent company for 'greed' over stewardship

Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano could have faced each other in a UFC pay-per-view fight, but Rousey said it “wasn’t meant to be.”

Rousey didn’t hold back her criticism of TKO Group, the public company that now owns UFC.

Both Rousey and Carano attended a press conference Tuesday to promote their upcoming MMA fight on May 16 in Inglewood, California. The bout is promoted by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. Rousey left UFC in 2016 and is returning to mixed martial arts after a stint in WWE and a short retirement.

Rousey explained that she initially proposed the fight with Carano to UFC CEO Dana White as the final pay-per-view event before UFC moved to its new streaming deal with Paramount. White suggested a New Year’s Day date, but Carano said she needed more time to reach peak fighting condition.

“I think that was fate,” Rousey said. “It was meant to be. It was meant to push us into the other side.”

Rousey used the press conference to openly criticize UFC’s new owners, saying they “need to be saved from themselves” and highlighting low pay for most fighters.

She added that White was “legally beholden to the shareholders and to maximize shareholder value” and that TKO had “taken the reins of the company away from him.”

“It used to be that the UFC was the best place to come in combat sports to make a living and be paid fairly,” Rousey said. “Now it’s one of the worst places to go. Many top athletes are leaving to find better pay elsewhere. Champions like Valentina Shevchenko are selling pictures on OnlyFans. Many fighters at the ground level can’t even support their families and are living at poverty level while fighting full-time.”

Rousey also called attention to UFC’s massive seven-year, $7.7 billion deal with Paramount for live rights, arguing that the promotion can afford to pay athletes better.

“This company just got $7.7 billion. There’s no reason they can’t pay their athletes at least a living wage,” she said. “Why would they expect to get the best athletes if MMA isn’t financially viable? Their short-term greed is driving talent away. They’re thinking about the next quarter and shareholders, not the future of the sport.”

Rousey, 39, won her first 12 MMA fights and held the UFC women’s bantamweight title before losing to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes in her last two bouts.

Carano, 43, went 7-1 in her MMA career and hasn’t fought since 2009.

—Field Level Media/Reuters