Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion and UFC Hall of Fame member Ronda Rousey has had some pointed words for the promotion recently.
On Monday, in an MVP Uncut video promoting her upcoming fight against Gina Carano on Netflix, Rousey made light of the UFC’s current legal situation. Since 2014, the UFC has been battling a string of class action lawsuits, starting with Le vs. Zuffa, which was settled to the tune of $375 million U.S. in 2024, with payouts distributed last year.
Lawsuits launched by Kajan Johnson, covering a different class period, and Misha Cirkonov, who is challenging the promotion’s use of contracts to restrict fighters from participating in class action lawsuits, are still ongoing.
“We’re helping them [UFC], because they’re suffering from a lack of competition. They can’t just make a class-action lawsuit every couple years the cost of doing business. I’m really trying to help Dana [White] out,” Rousey said with a laugh, speaking on camera to MVP’s Nakisa Bidarian. “If anyone has been groomed to be his apprentice, it’s been me. I think I’d be the most favorite adversary he’s ever had.”
The comments may have been made in jest, but there’s some truth behind them. Depending on how the remaining lawsuits play out, there’s a chance that the UFC will have paid out close to, if not over, $800 million to over a billion dollars due to legal action, in a period of years.
With their new seven-year, $7.7 billion dollar broadcast deal with Paramount+, the UFC/Zuffa and parent company TKO Group aren’t hurting for cash, but the amount remains significant.
On Monday, in a tweet promoting her own card, which has been joined by lineal heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, Rousey finished off by saying “P.S [UFC]’s White House card sucks.”
Another shot fired.
Fans have been divided on the “Freedom 250” event at the White House, with many seeing Saturday’s announcement of the card by the promotion as underwhelming, with all of the company’s top stars including Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, and Jorge Masvidal absent.
Rousey, who last fought in a loss to Amanda Nunes in 2016, faces Carano, retired since 2009, on May 16, 2026 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA.