Ronda Rousey is to UFC what Dave Mustaine is to Metallica.
The former UFC bantamweight champion is still mad at UFC COO Hunter Campbell for turning down her request to fight Gina Carano inside the Octagon. As a result, “Rowdy” went to Jake Paul and MVP and fought “Conviction” on Netflix, a record-breaking stream that sent Rousey back into the win column.
“It was extremely validating, especially after Hunter Campbell told Gina that he didn’t know how he was gonna market a couple of 40-year-olds, so
it was really nice to take that comment and throw it in his face,” Rousey told The Fight Culture. “It’s not that he doesn’t know how to market us, it’s that he doesn’t know how to market (expletive) anybody. He missed a huge opportunity letting us go. In his own arrogance he allowed us to create the Lamborghini to his Ferrari. He’s created the hugest rival the UFC’s ever going to have because he’s so arrogant, stupid, and chauvinistic.”
I’m not sure I would consider MVP a huge rival to anyone. While they certainly have the ability stage huge events, there just isn’t enough available talent outside of UFC to maintain an active roster. Nate Diaz is 41 and Francis Ngannou turns 40 in September, and Salahdine Parnasse already followed this heavyweight to UFC.
Would that persuade the 39-year-old Rousey (13-2) to book another fight?
“We’ll see, we need to kind of like, reconvene and see what the future looks like at this point,” Rousey said. “I think everyone is just kind of decompressing and getting back to post-that huge of an event fight-life. What I hope they do, with or without me, is that they continue to make their fights a huge event, every single one a huge event, because that’s what is missing in MMA. It’s just becoming on every weekend, background noise.”
Rousey returned from a 10-year absence to submit Carano in just 17 seconds.
