Ronda Rousey is making it clear she believes MMA has space to grow beyond the UFC and she plans to prove it with her return on May 16.
The former UFC bantamweight champion is set to face fellow pioneer Gina Carano in a high-profile comeback fight on a blockbuster card streaming live on Netflix. The event also features big names like Nate Diaz, Francis Ngannou, and Mike Perry, marking one of the most talked-about MMA crossover cards in recent memory.
Ahead of her return, Ronda Rousey didn’t hold back when discussing her confidence in the new MMA direction being built under Most Valuable Promotions (MVP).
“I mean I think nobody is more qualified than me,” Rousey told TMZ. “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.”
Ronda Rousey also believes the sport is entering a turning point, especially with new platforms like Netflix helping push combat sports to a wider audience.
“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.”
The May 16 card will also feature Francis Ngannou vs Philipe Lins, Nate Diaz vs Mike Perry, and Junior dos Santos taking on Robelis Despaigne, making it one of the most star-heavy fight cards outside the UFC in years.
Ronda Rousey has made it clear her comeback fight is a one-off return, but her comments suggest she still sees a future for herself in the business side of MMA.
While promoting her bout against Gina Carano, Rousey has openly criticized the UFC’s current leadership and business direction. She ultimately partnered with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions to help build the Netflix-streamed event, which reaches over 325 million subscribers worldwide.
Ronda Rousey believes the UFC has lost focus on what once made it dominant, fighter personalities and storytelling.
“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.”
She continued by pointing to how UFC branding has shifted over time.
“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.”
Despite her criticism, Ronda Rousey still gives credit to Dana White, but argues the promotion no longer operates the same way it once did under tighter leadership control.
Looking ahead, Rousey isn’t just interested in fighting, she’s also thinking about promotion and leadership.
“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.”
With her return fight against Gina Carano approaching, Ronda Rousey is stepping back into the spotlight with bigger ambitions than just competition, she wants influence over where MMA goes next.
