Ronda Rousey says failed negotiations with the UFC over a proposed Gina Carano bout are a key reason her MMA comeback is happening with Most Valuable Promotions instead of her former home.
Rousey is set to return to competition this Saturday at the inaugural MMA event for Most Valuable Promotions, streaming live on Netflix from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. She has framed the buildup to the Carano fight as Most Valuable Promotions MMA versus the UFC.
Detailing the breakdown in talks, Rousey aimed sharp criticism at UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell. "It wasn't personal; well, with Hunter (Campbell) it was personal because he was just a f*cking asshole about it," Rousey said, later adding, "He was just being such a prick. He was being so dismissive and being like, just trying to get me and Gina to value ourselves less from the get-go, like this isn't the greatest thing that's fallen on his lap since he's f*cking been here."
Rousey says the UFC wanted her potential fight with Carano to serve as a title bout to retire the vacant women's 145-pound belt. "Then he started mentioning, because he wanted me and Gina to fight for the 145-pound title because it was vacant, and it's a way to retire the belt, and then Hunter is like, 'Yeah, and then we can get rid of that division,'" she said.
Rousey, described as one of the UFC's most important figures, now intends to continue working with Most Valuable Promotions MMA and to oppose the UFC and Campbell going forward.
