Ronda Rousey has been very vocal about fighter pay since her bout against Gina Carano was announced. And during this time, ‘The Arm Collector’ has repeatedly criticized the UFC for paying its fighters egregiously low amounts. But then, former UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev was asked about his thoughts on Rousey’s criticism of the UFC.
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Chimaev, who recently lost his first title defense at the hands of Sean Strickland, claimed Ronda Rousey was ungrateful and was essentially biting the hand that fed her. Rousey, of course, was asked her thoughts on Chimaev’s statement during an interview with Ariel Helwani on Monday. However, she asked Helwani to bring it up on Thursday’s presser.
“I would want to make something abundantly clear, and that’s that I owe Dana and the Fertittas immensely,” Rousey said during the presser. “And I would be caught dead before you ever heard me say a bad thing about any of them. But my loyalty is to them and not the company they sold. And I do not owe TKO’s UFC a damn thing.
“And f—king cleft lip Lincoln is just hating because at his press conference for his fight, people are asking about me and my fight because no one gives a s—t about his ineffectual wrestle f—k fests. People actually can’t stop talking about this fight because it’s so stacked, and they’re actually excited to see me fight because, unlike C—mquat, I have 100% finish rate.”
Ronda Rousey responds to Khamzat: Unlike Kumquat I have 100% finish rate.
Ronda Rousey is going to respond to Khamzat tonight.
Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano face each other on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, live on Netflix. This will be her first MMA bout since she retired from the UFC in 2016 after suffering back-to-back losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. In that same year, Endeavor acquired a majority stake in the UFC, and in 2021, it expanded that stake to get full control.
In 2023, they merged the UFC with WWE to form the TKO Group, their parent company. So, the majority of Rousey’s career had unfolded in the UFC when Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta controlled it. In any case, while Khamzat Chimaev is off to a not-so-great start to his relationship with Ronda Rousey, Sean Strickland appears to be in her good graces.
Sean Strickland seeks approval from Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano
UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland reportedly needed approval from Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano before receiving tickets for Saturday’s event at the Intuit Dome in California. The event marks the first MMA venture for Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), with Rousey and Carano returning from retirement to headline the card.
MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian revealed that Strickland requested tickets, but the matter had to be cleared with the headliners because of his past comments.
“I got a request from Sean Strickland, but I need to talk to Ronda because he was very derogatory about Ronda and Gina,” Bidarian said. “You can’t disrespect the headliners and call for free tickets.”
Rousey appeared amused by the situation.
“Sure, he can come. I’m glad it has to go through me now.”
That being said, it appears Khamzat Chimaev has made a new adversary out of Ronda Rousey. If the UFC ever boots him from the promotion, MVP MMA might not have its doors open for him.
