UFC Legend Ronda Rousey Goes Scorched Earth on Current State of UFC Fighter Pay

UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey did not pull any punches with her recent comments about how the UFC compensates its fighters.

The first female champion in the history of the UFC, Rousey successfully defended her women’s bantamweight belt six time before her stunning knockout-loss to Holly Holm that ended her title reign and preceded a layoff of more than a year.

Losing her return fight against Amanda Nunes in just 48 seconds encouraged Rousey to move on from MMA and carve out a successful professional wrestling career with the WWE, but now the 39-year-old is set to make a stunning return to combat sports when she faces fellow women’s MMA legend Gina Carano in a Netflix boxing match on May 16.

Ronda Rousey Sounds Off On UFC Fighter Pay

Speaking at a press conference just over two months out from the fight with Carano, Rousey was asked about for her thoughts on the reports that the UFC couldn’t get Jon Jones on the summer's planned White House card due to financial disagreements.

“It used to be that [the] UFC was the best place you could come in combat sports to make a living and be paid fairly, and now it’s no longer – it’s one of the worst places to go,” Rousey answered (h/t Championship Rounds). “It’s why so many of their top athletes are leaving to go and find pay elsewhere, it’s why their champions like Valentina [Shevchenko] are selling pictures of their ti****s on OnlyFans. These people are – a lot of them at the ground level, they can’t even support their families. They’re living poverty-level, fighting full time.”

Jon Jones (red gloves) reacts after defeating Stipe Miocic (not pictured) in the heavyweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Now in her second reign as the UFC women’s flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko is arguably the biggest female star currently on the promotion’s roster and will more than likely have something to say when she catches wind that she was used as an example in Rousey’s comments about the UFC’s business practices.

Valentina Shevchenko (red gloves) reacts after defeating Zhang Weili (not pictured). — Valentina Shevchenko (red gloves) reacts after defeating Zhang Weili (not pictured) in the womens flyweight championship bout during UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Whatever Shevchenko’s response may be, Rousey is on the shortlist of the biggest stars in the promotion’s history and was a massive pay-per-view draw during her time with the women’s bantamweight belt. “Rowdy” also claims that there were discussions with Dana White and the UFC regarding the Carano fight before they eventually inked a deal with Netflix.

"They’re Bleeding Talent Because Of Their Short-Term Greed"

Fighter pay is always a hot topic in the MMA community, and Rousey went on to reference the company’s lucrative new deal with Paramount that kicked off at the beginning of this year.

“This company just got 7.7 billion dollars, there’s no reason that they can’t afford to pay their athletes at least a living wage…Why would they expect to get the best athletes and the best, aspiring kids that want to be something, into MMA? Why not go into football, why not go into boxing? Why not going into anything else?...They’re bleeding talent because of their short-term greed. They’re thinking about the next quarter, they’re thinking about the shareholders, they’re not thinking about their responsibility to be stewards of the future of the sport.”

UFC CEO Dana White (left) talks to President-elect Donald Trump ringside during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Particularly at the higher weight classes, many fighters on the UFC roster started their athletic careers out focused on other sports before moving on to MMA. Gable Steveson, the hottest heavyweight prospect in the sport, tried his hand at both professional football and the WWE after his decorated wrestling career before he decided to make the jump to MMA last year.

Ronda Rousey (left) and Gina Carano pose at a press conference for their upcoming MMA featherweight bout at Intuit Dome. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

As noted by Aaron Bronsteter, the Rousey vs. Carano fight is scheduled to take place in California, which is a state that publically releases the fight purses for combat sports events. Rousey’s comments will almost certainly draw more attention to how much she and Carano make for their fight, and UFC CEO White will presumably be asked about the UFC Hall of Famer’s comments at some point in the near future.