UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey exploded on Dana White and her former promotion at the inaugural press conference ahead of her MMA return.
Fighter pay continues to be a hot-button issue in UFC circles, especially after former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ calls to be released from the promotion. After Jones was excluded from the upcoming White House card, he accused UFC CEO Dana White and the promotional brass of ‘lowballing’ him in alleged negotiations for the event.
Enter UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey, who shares a close relationship with White despite her opposition to UFC fans, media, and some fighters on the current roster. Rousey will make her MMA comeback on May 16th against fellow pioneer Gina Carano in a Most Valuable Promotions main event.
Ahead of the UFC’s Freedom 250 card at the White House, Rousey claimed the event’s fight lineup ‘sucks’ in a recent social media post. But Rousey took things a step further in one of her first public appearances since her comeback fight was announced.
Ronda Rousey on Dana White: ‘He’s an employee of the UFC, not the owner’
At the Rousey vs. Carano pre-fight press conference, Rousey went on a wild rant about UFC fighter pay after Jones’ recent statement.
“It’s just not about putting on the best fights possible anymore. Dana isn’t the owner, he isn’t calling the shots, and running things the way that he wants. He’s an employee of the company now…and it was a big mistake of theirs to not allow Dana to run things the way he always has,” Rousey exclaimed.
“[Dana] knows the White House card sucks, that they were pushing this for over a year and it fell extremely short of expectations. He was so upset about it, that he was talking about a fight falling out the day before. I can guarantee you that he’s not happy with it either. It used to be that the UFC was the best place to go in combat sports to make a living and be paid fairly, and now the UFC is one of the worst places to go. It’s why so many of their top athletes are leaving to find pay elsewhere, and their champions like Valentina [Shevchenko] are selling pictures of their t—– on OnlyFans.
“A lot of them at the ground level, they can’t support their families and live at a poverty level, fighting full-time,” Rousey continued. “This company just got $7.7 billion; there’s no reason that they can’t afford to pay their athletes at least a living wage.”
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who sat a few feet away from Rousey during her rant, was then asked to give his thoughts on her assessment of the UFC’s business practices.
“I’m happy that I’m out of that, that’s all that I can say [LAUGHS],” Ngannou said.
As of this writing, White and the other UFC executives remain silent in response to Rousey, Ngannou, and Jones’ recent remarks.
Do you agree with Ronda Rousey’s stance against the UFC and Dana White? Let us know in the comments!