Ahead of her Netflix return, Ronda Rousey had claimed that her Gina Carano fight purse would make her the highest-paid female athlete in combat sports history. But the California State Athletic Commission’s disclosed figures after the fight paint a very different picture.
According to the CSAC report, Most Valuable Promotions paid Ronda Rousey $2.2 million for fighting Gina Carano, who earned $1.05 million. Those numbers appear far lower than what Rousey had initially implied. However, she has now clarified that the CSAC’s list didn’t include a major portion of her compensation, which includes her pay for her role promoting the event.
“Well, I was compensated not just for my fighting services, you know,” Rousey stated during the post-fight presser. “I also was promoting this event as well, so I think it’s literally in the contract that I’m not supposed to tell people, but I’m very happy and very grateful. Me and my husband are going to go house shopping in Hawaii after this.”
This suggests that her total payout for the event could be exponentially higher than the $2.2 million figure. When it comes to MVP fighter payouts, MMA Junkie’s report on the CSAC figures stated that the commission’s disclosed salaries did not include discretionary bonuses from the promotion, Netflix viewership money, or ticket-sale revenue. Still, it remains unclear whether she truly became the highest-paid female athlete in combat sports for her 17-second armbar victory over Gina Carano.
Reportedly, Ronda Rousey received her biggest payday for her final UFC fight against Amanda Nunes at UFC 207, earning a total of $4.88 million, though some reports claimed it was closer to $3 million. Compared to that, Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor reportedly earned $5 million each for their trilogy boxing match last year. So, there is still some disparity between the reported highest payout in combat sports. It remains uncertain whether ‘Rowdy’ has truly closed that gap, though Nakisa Birdarian, co-founder of MVP, confidently claimed that she has.
Ronda Rousey: I was compensated, not just for my fighting services. I also was promoting this event as well, so I think it's literally on the contract that I'm not supposed to tell people..I'm very happy and very grateful and me and my husband are gonna go house shopping in Show more
That said, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Ronda Rousey’s comeback after almost a decade was lucrative for her. However, the disclosed payouts for the other marquee fighters on the card appeared lower than many expected.
CSAC discloses other fighters’ purses for the Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano card
Alongside Rousey and Carano, the California State Athletic Commission also revealed the payouts for the other fighters on the card. As per their list, Nate Diaz earned $500,000 for going to a bloody war against Mike Perry, who received $400,000. Previously, Joe Rogan and Brendan Schaub had claimed that Netflix was paying Diaz nearly $10 million, which Jake Paul later revealed was highly inflated.
Well, it now seems that the $10 million figure was indeed heavily exaggerated, even if both welterweights received additional promotional shares. Next comes Francis Ngannou, who also received a smaller paycheck compared to his previous fights. The former PFL-UFC champion earned $1.5 million, which is minuscule compared to the guaranteed $10 million purse he reportedly received for his PFL fight against Renan Ferreira. It’s even smaller compared to his boxing outings against Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, which reportedly earned him around $30 million combined.
On the other hand, the Cameroonian-French MMA great’s opponent, Philipe Lins, earned just $100,000 for facing the biggest opponent of his career. MVP paid former UFC champion Junior Dos Santos a modest $80,000 for fighting Robelis Despaigne, who received $50,000. One of the hottest prospects on the card, Salahdine Parnasse, earned $70,000, while his opponent, Kenneth Cross, received $50,000. Plus, the promotion reportedly paid prelim fighters guaranteed purses of $40,000, while even a veteran like former Bellator champion Jason Jackson earned $110,000 for competing on the prelims.
With Ronda Rousey revealing that she earned additional money through her promotional role with MVP, there’s now a possibility that she could become one of the promotion’s key faces alongside Jake Paul for future MMA events, especially after retiring once again following her latest victory.
