The UFC is drowning in hypocrisy and doesn’t even realize it anymore. The President and COO of TKO Group Holdings, Mark Shapiro, spoke at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference in Boston, Massachusetts. During his speech, Shapiro revealed the reason why they passed on the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight that unfolded on Saturday.
According to a X post from Wrestling Observer’s Josh Nason, Shapiro claimed it was “more of a stunt than a meaningful MMA event.” He added that it wasn’t good for the sport after how the fight itself played out at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
“(Netflix) wants big spectacle events, and they saw this as a big spectacle event,” Shapiro added. “We’re in the true MMA business on a meaningful, consistent basis. When we looked at this potential matchup, keep in mind there’s a real art and skill to matchmaking….The answers (he & Ari Emanuel) got back (from Dana White & Hunter Campbell) were that fight will be over in 20 seconds.
“I don’t believe a fight like that, just the way it played out, is really good for MMA especially because it’s Netflix and such an incredible global audience…that is going to sample, depending on what comes up on the front page, to go to that fight and think that’s what MMA is, I don’t believe is good for the sport long term. We saw it that way and decided to pass on it.”
At today's JP Morgan global tech, media and communications conference, TKO's Mark Shapiro said the reason UFC passed on Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano was it "more of a stunt than a meaningful MMA event" and one he thought wasn't good for the sport after how it played out. Show more
While Mark Shapiro may have a point in some areas, the criticism still comes off as deeply hypocritical. It’s no secret that Ronda Rousey initially approached the UFC to make the fight happen. According to her, the deal fell apart because UFC CBO Hunter Campbell downplayed the matchup and tried steering her toward another opponent, which ultimately pushed her toward MVP and Netflix instead. That much is fairly clear.
But it’s not as if the UFC has consistently acted in the sport’s best interests either. After Alexander Volkanovski thoroughly outclassed Diego Lopes, there was little competitive justification for an immediate rematch. Yet the UFC booked it anyway, seemingly to maximize revenue from a marketable pairing—only for Volkanovski to dominate Lopes again.
If that’s considered acceptable matchmaking, then criticizing others for prioritizing money feels selective at best. The same pattern appeared in the Arman Tsarukyan situation. Despite being the clear No. 1 contender, he was passed over for a lightweight title shot. Cases like these aren’t exceptions; they’re part of a recurring trend within the UFC. None of this necessarily means the Ronda Rousey vs. Carano card was well-matched.
It simply highlights the irony of one promotion, heavily driven by profit itself, attacking another for doing the exact same thing, arguably on an even larger scale, because of the star power involved and Netflix. Perhaps MVP MMA’s existence does threaten UFC’s future, especially since they are paying their fighters more, which may have been the one good thing that came out of last Saturday’s event.
In any case, when the fans discovered Shapiro’s comments about the Ronda Rousey vs. Carano fight, they were furious.
TKO Group gets shredded into pieces
Journalist Dave Meltzer was one of the first few to criticize Shapiro for his comments. “Imagine the disingenuous bulls—t I’ve heard over the years. This is near the all-time top. The UFC wanted this fight; Dana himself said you would never believe the fight that fell into our lap when it was proposed to him in late 2024. They were on board, would have promoted it like crazy, had a PPV date, but Carano needed more time, and they got out of PPV. Without PPV, they wanted a guarantee, and somebody else offered more. Also, if the idea that a short main event is bad for the sport, Ronda had nine wins and one loss in less than 70 seconds, and her drawing power and PPV buys increased with every PPV win. Shapiro is either completely full of s—t or has zero knowledge of MMA history (or both),” he wrote. However, when Ronda Rousey was competing in the UFC, the promotion wasn’t yet under TKO Group Holdings. Endeavor first acquired a majority stake in the UFC in 2016, completed a full buyout in 2021, and later merged the promotion with WWE to form TKO Group in 2023.
Another user wasn’t buying Shapiro’s holier-than-thou attitude on the matter. “While there may be some truths in this statement, keep in mind Shapiro will sell people on the UFC product, so it may be a tad salesmen-like,” the user posted. Shapiro will always have a bias because his position at TKO creates a conflict of interest.
Someone else pointed out what makes Shapiro’s comments disingenuous. “If UFC [were] really about meaningful fights, then top contenders would get title opportunities instead of the bigger draw. They would also address the goddamn eye-poking situation,” the user commented. The UFC has at least attempted to address the eye-poke issue by introducing redesigned gloves aimed at reducing the risk of extended fingers. However, the changes have done little to eliminate the problem. Dana White has also floated the idea of harsher penalties for repeated eye pokes, though he admitted the issue is probably never going to disappear completely.
The next fan used a recent move from the promotion to highlight Shapiro’s hypocrisy. “Meanwhile, the UFC just booked Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway 😂😂😂😂GTFOH,” the user posted. Much like Carano, Conor McGregor has also been inactive for an extended period, having not fought since 2021. While his layoff doesn’t come close to Carano’s two-decade absence, it’s still substantial enough to raise questions. The UFC’s willingness to continue centering McGregor in major plans despite that inactivity only reinforces the perception that the promotion is often willing to overlook its own standards.
One user brought up Rousey’s time in the UFC. “And yet, Dana had no problem with Ronda fights being over in 20 seconds or less when she was selling out arenas and PPVs for him,” the user wrote. Well, White can’t exactly go against his new boss, can he?
Mark Shapiro appears to have made a huge mistake by critiquing the Ronda Rousey vs. Carano fight. Although he was making good points, the UFC itself can’t act righteous in the matter.
