Ronda Rousey used the launch of her long-awaited comeback fight to deliver a blistering critique of the UFC on Tuesday, accusing the organization of shortchanging its fighters financially as she announced her May 16 return to MMA against fellow pioneer Gina Carano on Netflix.
"It used to be that the UFC was the best place in combat sports to make a living and get paid fairly," the 39-year-old Rousey said at a kickoff press conference. "Now it's one of the worst."
Rousey, the first American woman to win an Olympic judo medal with bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games, made clear her disillusionment with the UFC’s current state.
Her remarks come amid a string of public disputes, including Jon Jones’ request to leave the UFC after being excluded from its White House event set for June 14 amid contract disagreements.
"A lot of fighters at the ground level can’t even support their families. They’re living at poverty level while fighting full-time. Meanwhile, this company just pulled in $7.7 billion. They’re thinking about the next quarter. They’re thinking about shareholders," Rousey added.
She was referencing Paramount’s seven-year deal to become the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of all UFC events, which ended the traditional pay-per-view model in January.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, set to face Brazil's Philipe Lins in the co-main event after a 19-month break from MMA, echoed Rousey's sentiments.
"We are not employees. We are independent contractors, and we should be able to get what we deserve," he said. "I'm happy I'm out of that."
Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Jake Paul, who was also in attendance, was equally blunt, declaring the UFC to be in terminal decline.
"I believe the UFC is dying, and MVP is here to take over," Paul said. "I believe we have a massive opportunity to disrupt the whole space and put fighters first, get them the pay they deserve."
The UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The press conference also produced a fiery exchange between Paul and Ngannou, who has just signed with MVP and said he wanted to fight the YouTube star turned boxer.
"I really didn't want to fight you, but now I want to beat you," Ngannou said. Paul fired back, saying he was ready. "I'm down. I've always been down," he declared.
The Rousey-Carano matchup will headline Netflix's first-ever live MMA broadcast, making it the first women's fight to headline on a major global streaming platform.
The 43-year-old Carano, who has not fought since a 2009 loss to Cris Cyborg, described the return as transformative.
"It's healing, it's exciting. It's everything I could have hoped for. I didn't know I needed this so badly," said Carano.
Rousey, fighting for the first time in a decade, said she never expected to compete again after stepping away from the sport and that motherhood had surprisingly reopened the door.
Rousey has two daughters with her husband, former MMA fighter Travis Browne. They were born in 2021 and 2024.
"I never thought I would come back. It didn't cross my mind at all," she said. "Once I found that love again, and I saw Gina not doing well, I was like we both need to reclaim our bodily identity together and rewrite our own endings together."
The event marks boxing promotion company MVP's debut in MMA after its record-breaking partnership with Netflix, which began with the 2024 Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight.
