Ronda Rousey is back in the news thanks to a newly announced Netflix fight, under Jake Paul’s MVP Promotions, against fellow women’s MMA legend Gina Carano.
The bout comes as something of a surprise if only because, while it had long been rumored, most had expected it to take place under the UFC banner.
Rousey has now revealed that UFC CEO and President Dana White was interested in the fight and did make her an offer, only for timing and a change in the promotion’s broadcast deal to force a change in plans.
Speaking to Jim Rome, Rouse revealed that the deal White offered her would have seen her “make more per PPV buy than anybody in history,” adding that if she hit or surpassed her historic numbers in terms of buyrate, “I would have made as much as I did in my entire career.”
PPV dollars, where fighters earn a bonus per Pay-Per-View sale, were a big factor for stars like Brock Lesnar, Georges St-Pierre, Conor McGregor, and Rousey, the big four of the UFC’s heyday.
With Gina Carano coming out of pregnancy, however, the Rousey vs. Carano fight date pushed past the start of the UFC’s Paramount+ deal, meaning PPV buys were gone. All events now air on the streaming service free of any additional charge past the monthly subscription fee. And according to Rousey, the promotion simply didn’t want to offer her a set fee that would make up for the loss of Pay-Per-View sales and the associated bonus.
“They didn’t want to set a precedent of giving me the guaranteed money that I deserved, because once I raise that tide it lifts all the boats,” stated Rousey. “They just made a 7.7 billion dollar deal at Paramount. It’s in their best interest actually not to put on the best fights possible but to spend as little money as possible so they can keep it.”
This is Rousey’s opinion, of course, but it very much has a ring of truth to it. “They’re legally, Dana’s not legally obligated to maximize shareholder value. It’s not just about proving the concept of fighting and putting on the best fights possible and proving that this is a sport to be taken seriously,” she continued.
“Now that they’ve sold the company, it’s kind of out of Dana’s hands unfortunately. And now it’s falling onto Hunter Campbell and UFC Corp., where they don’t care about putting on the best fights possible, they care about putting on the most cost-effective fights possible.”
The UFC has always been a tough negotiator, and after settling one class action lawsuit over fighter pay, is still facing two others. If Rousey’s comments are taken at face value, it seems little has changed in the promotion’s business model, despite the current financial windfall. The promotion sails to new heights, while fighters struggle to stay above water.
