Ronda Rousey‘s comeback was already set to be a massive event, but it became a personal war of words after Kayla Harrison dismissed it as ‘irrelevant,’ a slight that the former champion was never going to let slide. After nearly a decade away from competition, Rousey is stepping straight into a five-round main event against Gina Carano on May 16, headlining a Netflix-backed card that already carries massive expectations. Between them, there are a combined 27 years away from MMA competition. Rousey last fought in 2016, Carano in 2009.

With Netflix’s massive reach and subscribers, along with an undercard featuring Francis Ngannou, Mike Perry, and Nate Diaz, it’s being pushed as a major reset moment for women’s MMA and an alternative to the UFC. But just as that narrative started building, Kayla Harrison’s comments calling the fight “irrelevant” prompted Rousey to return fire when asked about it.

Speaking at the recent press conference, in a heated diatribe, Rousey immediately pushed back, questioning how Harrison could dismiss her legacy while constantly referencing it herself.

“Gina is so relevant that she’s the whole reason that the 145-pound division even exists. And I am so relevant that the only reason she has a job at the UFC is because of me,” Rousey said. “And Kayla is so irrelevant that she couldn’t even keep the 145-pound division around. And honestly, she’s just sour because no matter what she does or what she accomplishes, she can’t change the fact that she has the charisma of a wet towel and will always be in me and Gina’s shadow.

“So the next time she wants to talk sh–, she should look down on her feet and consider who paved the road that she’s walking on. Oh, wait, she can’t look down on her feet because she’s too busy holding onto the belt and the neck brace. And then she goes on and says that I lied about training in judo in Canada in 2006. Like, who the f–k are you to call me a liar, okay? I was training there for five months. B—, you weren’t even there, okay? Over the last decade and a half of being a public figure, I have cultivated a reputation for being unabashedly truthful. This b–ch just got here and was already caught in a lie.”

Rousey also pointed out what she sees as hypocrisy from Kayla Harrison, reminding everyone that Harrison once praised her for helping during tough times, even saying she bought her groceries when she was struggling in Japan. She then questioned the legitimacy of Harrison’s current claims, arguing that if Harrison’s fight with Amanda Nunes is truly the biggest in women’s MMA, it shouldn’t have been placed as a co-main event. She also took a shot at her drawing power, suggesting Harrison isn’t even a bigger attraction than Paddy Pimblett.

She also brought up pay, suggesting that if Harrison is earning less now than she did a decade ago, something doesn’t add up.

“If she thinks that her fight is the biggest women’s fight of all-time, why is she getting paid less now than I was 10 years ago?” Rousey added. “So riddle me this, b–ch, are you overvalued or are you overpaid? What really pisses me off more than anything else is how small she thinks. This is not just the biggest women’s fight of all time; this is the biggest MMA fight of all time.”

It’s a pointed argument. Ronda Rousey is tying relevance not just to skill, but to drawing power, placement on the card, and paychecks.

According to the former UFC bantamweight champion, the platform and star power will drive massive viewership to their fight, and it will help open doors for fighters with better opportunities and revenue, calling it a moment bigger than any single name on the card. Whether that prediction comes true will be decided on May 16, when her claims of relevance are put to the ultimate test. But it wasn’t just Kayla Harrison who came under fire.

Ronda Rousey goes off on the UFC for losing its identity and becoming “the establishment”

Ronda Rousey’s frustration seems to run deeper than one rivalry. In fact, her recent comments suggest she’s looking at the bigger picture, the state of MMA itself, and more specifically, the UFC’s current position at the top. In a video on YouTube, the former UFC star didn’t hold back when discussing where she believes the sport is headed and what’s gone wrong along the way.

“I feel like we’re in a crossroads for the sport,” Rousey shared. “And this is the beginning of a big change that is long overdue. I meant it when I said that the UFC is suffering from a lack of competition. They’ve become too comfortable with being the dominant force in the industry, and just making fighters offers where they go, ‘Take it or leave it, what else are you going to do?’ It used to be that UFC was the best way to make money in combat sports. Now it’s becoming the worst place to make money in combat sports. It used to be anti-establishment, and now it’s become the establishment.”

The UFC is running over 40 events a year, has a massive global deal with Paramount+, and continues to dominate the market share in MMA. But Rousey’s argument isn’t about output, it’s about leverage. She believes fighters don’t have enough of it anymore and suggested the promotion has started prioritizing stability over risk, relying on its platform rather than consistently delivering for great fights for fans. She implied that the safety net of streaming deals has changed how the business operates.

At the same time, she made it clear this isn’t coming from someone bitter about her past. Ronda Rousey acknowledged she was a “company woman” during her run, but believes things have changed since then.

Some will see this as Rousey doing what she’s always done best: creating noise, building interest, and making sure all eyes are on her. Others will likely take her points seriously, especially when it comes to fighter value and opportunity in today’s landscape. Either way, the stakes are clear now: May 16 isn’t just about a comeback, it’s about proving a claim because if Rousey and Carano deliver on the scale she’s promising, then “irrelevant” would be very far off the mark.