Ronda Rousey has broken her silence about her failed negotiations with Dana White for a UFC return. Rousey provided more details, revealing that White had actually offered her the most lucrative contract of her career.
Rousey noted that she was involved in negotiations with White. She claims he offered her a sizable increase on her pay-per-view point threshold. However, that deal relied on the pay-per-view model under the UFC’s ESPN broadcast rights deal.
Now that the UFC has shifted to a streaming model with Paramount+, that deal would not honored. As a result, the terms would have changed because the fight was no longer being tied to pay-per-view.
“I went to [White] and I’m like, ‘Dude, you say that I’m the best fighter you ever worked with. Reward me for it. Don’t punish me for being easy to work with. Give me the best deal you ever gave anybody,” Rousey told The Jim Rome Show. “He literally brought me a deal where I would more per pay-per-view buy than anybody in history. If I hit my historical numbers, I would made as I did in my entire career.”
She added:
“Gina needed more time and it happened to go to the other side of when [the] ESPN deal and their pay-per-view model would be ending.”
Jake Paul‘s Most Valuable Promotions will promote Rousey vs. Gina Carano instead and stream it live on Netflix.
Ronda Rousey Explains Why the UFC Didn’t Want to Pay Her the Same Amount
Ronda Rousey also explained why the UFC did not want to pay her a larger guarantee to fight Gina Carano. While the promotion shifted to streaming, they could have structured bonuses based on other metrics.
Rousey said that the decision was a TKO call, not Dana White. Because they are a publicly traded company with multiple entities, they did not want to set a precedent with her.
“They didn’t want to set a precedent of giving me the guaranteed money that I deserve because once I raise that tide, it lifts all the boats,” Rousey told The Jim Rome Show. “It’s in [TKO’s] best interest actually not to put on the best fights possible, but to spend as little money possible so that they can keep it.”
She emphasized that failing to come to terms led her explore other options.
“It no longer made sense for me to go over there because they didn’t want to us the money that we deserve.”
Rousey Says Dana White was Initially Excited About UFC Fight with Gina Carano
Rousey also noted that White was initially in favor of her fighting Carano in the UFC. He seemed fully on board, even sharing Carano’s information so she could reach out to her.
Speaking to Jim Rome, Rousey described the first conversations. She said he was excited about the fight, but timing did not align.
“[White] said, ‘Of course I would be interested.’ And he sent me this voice memo where I can tell when he’s super excited about something because he’s stuttering all over the place,” Rousey said. “I was nine months pregnant at the time and [Carano] had a long way to go. So I was like, ‘Come on, girl. Let’s get back in it together.’ Literally, it’s been a saga.”
Ronda Rousey Breaks Silence on Why Negotiations With Dana White Collapsed