Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano appeared in front of the media on Tuesday to promote their May 16 bout on Netflix, with the former UFC champion not holding back regarding the state of the UFC.
Rousey, who will fight for the first time in over nine years, repeated the story that she brought the fight with Carano to Dana White first. Rousey said they were aiming for a fight this past New Year’s on what would have been the company’s last pay-per-view before moving to streaming in the U.S. on Paramount+.
Carano needed additional time to get ready, and the UFC could not offer Rousey a similar deal under the streaming model.
On Monday, Rousey tweeted that the “White House card sucks” and did not soften her stance when asked about the remark. Rousey said that the card fell short of expectations and said that “He (Dana White) knows the White House card sucks,” saying that White is not the owner of the UFC and is an employee now.
Ronda Rousey just went on a rant about the UFC’s fighter pay 😳
“The UFC is one of the worst places to go. Their champions like Valentina are selling pictures of their t*tties on OnlyFans.
They just got $7.7 billion dollars. There’s no reason they can’t pay their athletes.” pic.twitter.com/TkaB6ljymb
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) March 10, 2026
Rousey was extremely critical of the pay structure in the UFC, noting that some fighters are living “in poverty level”, yet the company has signed a $7.7 billion deal with Paramount. Rousey argued for the UFC to pay the fighters a living wage and is losing talent for “short-term greed” with the focus on the next quarter and not being “stewards of the sport”.
Neither woman would definitively state if this would be their last fight. Rousey said she wants to have more children, and this fight could rewrite her exit from MMA. Carano is unsure if she will fight again and won’t know until after May 16.
The two began discussing the possibility of a fight in 2024 when Rousey was pregnant with her second child.
Francis Ngannou and Philipe Lins were also present to promote their fight on the card. Ngannou became a free agent last week when he was released by the PFL.
Lins last fought two years ago with the UFC, where he was on a four-fight winning streak at light heavyweight when his contract ended. He is a former PFL heavyweight tournament winner in 2018.
There was a back-and-forth between Ngannou and Jake Paul at the press conference, with Paul stating he wanted to fight the former UFC champion. Ngannou responded, “I really didn’t want to fight you, but now I want to beat you.”
The May 16 card at the Intuit Dome will be Netflix’s first MMA card and will partner with Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions.
