Ronda Rousey highly critical of UFC fighter pay ahead of Gina Carano fight

UFC fighter pay has been at the forefront in the last month since British star boxer Conor Benn signed a one-fight $15 million contract with Dana White's Zuffa Boxing. 

The disclosed purse sent a jolt through in White's UFC as marquee fighters like Sean O'Malley, Max Holloway, and Michael "Venom" Page, and Conor McGregor have expressed their frustrations with Benn getting such a significant payday when UFC fighters are still receiving much lower salaries for their efforts and are arguably more well-known on a global scale. Rob Font, who fought at Saturday's UFC 326, told DAZN News last week 'it's tough' watching boxers get paid better than them. Now, one of the biggest names in combat sports has expressed her frustration with UFC fighter salaries.

Former UFC women's bantamweight Ronda Rousey spoke about the issue at a Tuesday afternoon press conference to preview her return to the cage on Saturday, May 16, against fellow MMA pioneer Gina Carano. But the once-in-a-lifetime fight isn't under the UFC banner. It's under the Most Valuable Promotions banner, led by Jake Paul. Rousey approached the UFC first. Things appeared to be on track to make the fight. However, when the UFC signed its deal with Paramount in 2025, President Dana White told Rousey they couldn't do it because of how much money she and Carano were asking for. While respectful of White due to him giving her the chance, Rousey voiced her frustration at the current fight pay structure. 

"It used to be that the UFC was the best place that you can come in combat sports to make a living and get paid fairly," said Rousey. "Now, it's no longer. It's one of the worst places to go. It's why so many of their top athletes are leaving to go and find pay elsewhere. It's why there champions like Valentina (Shevchenko, women's flyweight champion) are selling pictures of their titties on OnlyFans. These people are a lot of them at the ground level. They can't support their families. They're living poverty level, fighting full-time. This company just got $7.7 billion. 

"There's no reason they can't afford to pay their athletes at least a living wage. Not even that. To at least be able to match what these athletes are making in other sports. Why would they expect to get the best athletes and best aspiring kids that want to be something into MMA? 

"Why not go into football? Why not go into boxing? Why not go into anything else? So they're bleeding talent because of their short-term greed. They're thinking about the next quarter thinking about the shareholders. They're not thinking about their responsibility to be stewards of the future of the sport.

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