Ronda Rousey says her failed UFC talks for the Gina Carano fight were not about Dana White.
Her problem is Hunter Campbell.
Rousey spoke on The Ariel Helwani Show in clips shared by Jed I. Goodman, where she said Campbell was dismissive during talks about bringing the Carano fight to the UFC. She also said White stayed supportive when she moved forward with Netflix after Carano said Rousey led the way once UFC talks stalled.
Ronda Rousey talks Hunter Campbell:
We are glorified bum fights to this guy. This guy does not have a job because he's good at it, he has a job because he is Dana and Lorenzo's lawyer's son. He was fucking intern when I was there before and now he's coming up to me saying, 'I… pic.twitter.com/vOMs4fyo25
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 11, 2026
Ronda Rousey on Dana White: He's just always been an incredible friend every step of the way and you know it's just business. And he gets it and I get it.#HelwaniShow pic.twitter.com/GVwP3d25cY
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 11, 2026
Rousey Goes Off On Hunter Campbell
Asked if she was disappointed that the UFC deal did not happen, Rousey said it was not personal overall, but Campbell made it personal.
“No, it wasn’t personal, you know?” Rousey said. “Well, with Hunter, it was personal because he was just a fucking asshole about it.”
Rousey said Campbell’s tone bothered her immediately.
“He was just being such a chauvinist prick and he was being so dismissive and like being like, just trying to get me and Gina to value ourselves less from the get go and acting like this isn’t the greatest thing that has fallen into his lap since he’s fucking been there,” Rousey said.
She said Campbell questioned how the fight would perform because of her and Carano’s ages.
“And he was like, ‘Oh no, you guys are just so much older and I just don’t know how it’s going to do,’” Rousey said. “And I’m like, what the fuck is this guy? First of all, I didn’t even know who he was. I was told he’s the lawyer that’s going to come and show you your pay-per-view numbers. I’m like, fine, I don’t care. Like, I’m going to knock this out of the park. Like, I love having my pay be performance-based. Like, fuck you. I’ll go show you, okay.”
Rousey said White had talked about making the fight for the vacant 145-pound title before retiring that belt, but Campbell’s response bothered her. The broader business pitch also fits with Rousey saying MVP MMA’s minimum purse beats UFC entry-level pay.
“But then Dana mentioned like, because he wanted me and Gina to fight for the 145 title because it was vacant, and it’s a way to retire the belt,” Rousey said. “And then Hunter’s like, ‘Yeah, but then we can get rid of that division.’”
Rousey said Campbell’s wording made her feel he looked down on fighters above 135 pounds.
“And like, just the way that he spoke of it, like how dismissive he was and like the disdain that he had for the fighters that weight,” Rousey said. “And I’m like, well, the fuck? My husband’s 6’7. My girls are not going to be 135. Like, this is what you think? Like, women that are heavier than 135 pounds, like they can’t offer you anything, that they’re worthless, that they’re worth scoffing at.”
She said it bothered her that Campbell had power inside the company.
“And it just really rubbed me the wrong way that like, this fucking guy is the person that’s going to be like, shepherding the company that I helped build,” Rousey said. “Like, it really, really rubbed me the wrong way.”
Rousey said she later asked her mother, AnnMaria De Mars, about Campbell.
“So after the meeting, I was like, ‘Mom, who’s Hunter Campbell?’ And she’s like, ‘Yeah, he’s a fucking asshole. Screw that guy,’” Rousey said.
Rousey then said her mother had dealt with Campbell through the California Athletic Commission during a meeting about slap fighting.
“She had a meeting with him about trying to get slap, you know, allowed for California,” Rousey said.
Rousey claimed Campbell framed slap fighting as an opportunity for certain competitors.
“But as a response, he goes, like, ‘This is a really big opportunity for a lot of these people. Like, a lot of these guys would just be doing meth in a trailer park if it wasn’t for this,’” Rousey said. “And I’m like, that’s what you think of the fighters? Like, we are glorified bum fights to this guy.”
Rousey then unloaded on Campbell directly.
“Like, this guy does not have a job because he’s good at it,” Rousey said. “He has a job because he is Dana and Lorenzo’s lawyer’s son. He was a fucking intern when I was there before. And now he’s fucking coming up to me saying, like, ‘Oh, I don’t know how you and Gina are going to do.’”
“Like, motherfucker, I’m going to put on a bigger fight with Gina than you have your entire fucking career,” Rousey said. “Keep trying to fail upwards, motherfucker. Keep trying to suck the right dicks in the right order. I’m fucking coming for your job. You fucking pissed off the wrong bitch.”
Rousey said she told White that Campbell gave her something to prove.
“I told Dana, last thing you want me to do is leave this office pissed off with something to prove because this motherfucker is pissing me off,” Rousey said. “And now I have something to prove because that’s why I’m going to go do some change the world shit.”
Rousey said White encouraged her to make money elsewhere.
“And Dana’s like, ‘I just want you to make as much money as possible. You go, you go do it,’” Rousey said. “I’m like, I want to do it. So yeah, long story long, he’s a dick.”
Rousey Says Dana White Stayed Supportive
Rousey said White had asked her about Katie Taylor rumors before she told him she was moving forward with Netflix, where the Carano fight has already been pushed through a more serious Rousey vs. Carano faceoff.
“I think the last time I heard from him, he was asking me if those Katie Taylor rumors were true and stuff like that,” Rousey said.
She said she gave White a chance to counter the Netflix deal, but understood the UFC business position.
“I gave him a chance to counter, but you know, I feel like Dana is legally bound to maximize shareholder value, you know, and it’s nothing that he can do,” Rousey said. “He’s just trying to maximize shareholder value.”
Rousey said she wanted White to know their relationship was still good.
“So then when I went and said, okay, I’m going with Netflix and all this stuff, and I was like, I want you to know like I love and I appreciate you and I don’t want you ever to think like, I hope that we’re good,” Rousey said.
According to Rousey, White responded warmly.
“And he just like was so gracious and sweet and was like, ‘I love you. We’re always going to be good. Like, I want you to be so successful at this,’ and everything like that,” Rousey said.
“Like, he’s just always been an incredible friend every step of the way, man,” Rousey said. “You know, like it’s just business. And he gets it and I get it.”
