Nate Diaz Fires Back At Ronda Rousey Over UFC White House Event

Ronda Rousey has been against the UFC for a few years now and has been very vocal against the White House event in June.

Apr 15, 2026; New York, NY, USA; Ronda Rousey walks onstage at the press conference for the Most Valuable Promotions MMA card at Palladium Theater. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Former UFC legends Ronda Rousey and Nate Diaz sit on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to UFC Freedom 250 coming up in June.

The pair share the MVP MMA event set for Saturday, May 16, from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, CA. Rousey returns to MMA for the first time in nearly a decade vs. fellow women's MMA pioneer Gina Carano in the headliner, while Diaz fights former UFC veteran and BKFC standout Mike Perry as part of a star-studded event that also features former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins.

The card will air live on Netflix, as it's the streaming platform's introduction to the MMA landscape, following a monumental boxing event that saw Jake Paul headline against Anthony Joshua last December and fight former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in Nov. 2024. A combined 141 million viewers tuned in to both fights, making it a bargain for Netflix, MVP, and the entire combat sports landscape, according to ESPN and TMZ Sports.

Nate Diaz Heaps Praise Toward UFC Freedom 250

Apr 15, 2026; New York, NY, USA; Nate Diaz speaks at the press conference for the Most Valuable Promotions MMA card at Palladium Theater. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Whether the main event of the May 16 card can be categorized as a cash grab or otherwise, two aspects are apparent: Diaz still has a bit of a UFC itch left in him, while Rousey, the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, sees definitive changes happening across MMA that need advocacy for a better version of tomorrow's sport.

Better yet, both see the UFC's White House card from the South Lawn in Washington D.C. performing polar opposites of one another, come Sunday, June 14.

"I think it’s cool as f***," Diaz told reporters Wednesday at a presser in New York City. "They’re gonna have a fight at the White House. “Throwing a fight at the White House, that’s badass. And that card is pretty [good]. They’ve got [Alex] Pereira on there, that’s pretty good."

Rousey, meanwhile, was not as impressed.

“I know I’m biased, but I can’t remember ever seeing a single card more stacked than this in MMA history,” Rousey wrote on Facebook, March 24. “This is what happens when fighters come together and bet on themselves – change is coming, we are not expendable."

Ronda Rousey Hypes Up UFC vs. MVP MMA Discussion

Apr 15, 2026; New York, NY, USA; Ronda Rousey speaks at the press conference for the Most Valuable Promotions MMA card at Palladium Theater. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Rousey wasn't quite done yet.

"This is a fight card for EVERYONE, not some oligarch shmooze fest," Rousey added, referencing the White House event.

Rousey, too, has been vocal about CBO Hunter Campbell's role in fight negotiations as opposed to previous dealings with CEO Dana White, amongst other concerns.

Nonetheless, two of MMA's most-talked-about events are set to take place nearly a month apart from one another. If one thing is for certain, the world will be watching both of them.