Ronda Rousey has launched a scathing public attack on UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell, blaming him for failed efforts to stage her comeback fight with Gina Carano in the UFC.
Rousey is returning to MMA after a 10-year retirement to face Carano in the main event of the first MVP MMA card in Inglewood, Calif., but says she initially tried to make the matchup happen under the UFC banner and ran into resistance from Campbell.
"It wasn’t personal. Well, with Hunter it was personal, because he was just a f*cking asshole about it," Rousey said, describing Campbell as dismissive of both her and Carano’s value and age when discussing the potential fight. She added, "He was just being such a chauvinist prick, and he was being so dismissive. Just trying to get me and Gina to value ourselves less from the get-go, and acting like this isn’t the greatest thing that’s fallen into his lap since he’s been there."
Rousey said Dana mentioned wanting her and Carano to fight for the vacant 145-pound title "as a way to retire the belt," and claimed Campbell responded, "Yeah, then we can get rid of that division." She expressed concern about his attitude toward heavier women’s weight classes and fighters in general.
Rousey also criticized Campbell’s view of fighters and his rise in the company, saying, "This guy does not have a job because he’s good at it. He has a job because he’s Dana and Lorenzo’s lawyer’s son. He was a f*cking intern when I was there before." She closed with a blunt warning: "I’m f*cking coming for your job. You f*cking pissed off the wrong bitch."
