Ronda Rousey is using her Gina Carano comeback to pitch something bigger than one fight. She believes MVP MMA and Netflix can become a serious threat to the UFC if the May 16 card turns into the hit she expects.
Rousey told TMZ Sports that Most Valuable Promotions has a real opening because Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian are presenting themselves as fighter-friendly promoters. She also argued that her own career makes her qualified to help lead that push.
“I mean I think nobody is more qualified than me,” Rousey told TMZ Sports. “I’m definitely more qualified than Hunter f*cking Campbell. I think that MVP would be an incredible partner and that Nakisa [Bidarian] and Jake Paul really believe in making sure the fighters are compensated fairly.
“The sport is at a crossroads where it’s kind of like I came upon women’s MMA and I’m like wait a minute, there’s a huge opportunity here. I’m seeing it right now with MVP and Netflix and MMA. [If] this event is a huge success, there’s a huge opportunity to take over the market share in MMA and show everybody what they’ve been missing.”
Watch Rousey’s TMZ Sports interview below:
Rousey’s history gives the pitch some weight. She won bronze in judo at the 2008 Olympics, became Strikeforce’s last women’s bantamweight champion, then became the first woman signed by the UFC. She fought Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 in the promotion’s first women’s bout, became the inaugural UFC women’s bantamweight champion, defended the belt six times, and was later inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
That is why her current criticism lands differently than a standard outside shot at the UFC machine. Rousey helped prove women could headline major MMA business, and now she sees a similar opening around MVP MMA’s fighter-pay pitch and Netflix’s reach.
Rousey Says UFC Forgot Fighters Are the Draw
MVP was founded in 2021 by Paul and Bidarian. The company built its name in boxing, including the Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano series and the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson event. Rousey believes that same star-first approach can work in MMA if MVP builds around personalities instead of treating the promotion as the attraction.
“I think what Jake Paul and Mike Tyson proved is that showcase fights are the future of the sport,” Rousey said. “People don’t tune in to see a belt. They don’t tune in to see a brand. They tune in to see characters that they know and love. It’s just like Pirates of the Caribbean. I’m not tuning in because I like the brand Pirates of the Caribbean or Disney. I don’t really care who gets Davey Jones’ heart at the end. I’m tuning in to see Jack Sparrow.
“The UFC, I think, has forgot that the fighters are the stars and that the characters are what people tune into see. They forgot when they started giving fight cards numbers instead of names and when they started putting everybody in the same exact uniform. I feel like there’s a huge opportunity to show what people miss in MMA and creating premier fights that feature characters that people love. I think this is just the beginning, if it is the huge success that I expect it to be. Hopefully there’s a partnership there in the future with me and MVP.”
Rousey is not erasing Dana White’s role in her rise or the UFC’s growth. Her issue is with the newer corporate structure. Endeavor bought the UFC in 2016, the promotion now sits under TKO Group Holdings, and White remains president and CEO while the business around him has changed.
“I would love to be their Dana and shepherd them into the future,” Rousey said. “We’ll see how this goes first. I feel like it’s a no-brainer.” via MMAFighting
The Carano fight decides how loud this idea gets. Rousey has said she is only coming back for one more fight unless the rivalry earns more, while Kayla Harrison has called the comeback a money chase compared to her Amanda Nunes path. If the Netflix card delivers, Rousey can argue MVP MMA has proof of concept. If it misses, the Dana White talk becomes a much tougher sell.
1 thought on “Ronda Rousey Pitches Herself As MVP MMA’s Dana White While Claiming Jake Paul’s Promotion Can Expose UFC’s Blind Spot”
Brain damage from her head to her toes. Rhonda will make every excuse in the book when she loses. I’d be ashamed of my daughter if she quit anything as fast and pathetic as she did.