Ex-WWE Star Ronda Rousey Reveals Why Her Comeback Fight Is Not Under The UFC Banner

For several months, Ronda Rousey was being tipped to return to combat sports.

While Rousey had stated that her WWE days were behind her, she had made no such comments about mixed martial arts. Earlier in the week, she delivered the news that the fans of MMA long-awaited.

The 39-year-old announced her return to MMA, revealing that she would be fighting fellow veteran Gina Carano, whose last fight was around 17 years ago.

The fight, scheduled to take place on May 16, is being promoted by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions and is set to be streamed on Netflix.

This will be the first time MVP is branching out into the world of mixed martial arts. It is also the first time Netflix will stream an MMA event live.

While the fans expressed their happiness about Ronda Rousey’s return, they couldn’t help but wonder why she was not competing under the UFC banner, considering she shares a cordial relationship with Dana White.

Ronda Rousey Reveals Pay Dispute With UFC

During a recent interview with American sports radio host Jim Rome, Ronda Rousey revealed that her comeback match almost happened with UFC, but negotiations fell through.

Originally, I wanted to do it for New Year’s, and I went to [Dana] and was like, ‘You always say I’m the best fighter you’ve ever worked with, reward me for it. Don’t punish me for being easy to work with. Give me the best deal you’ve ever given anybody.’

He came back and he literally brought me a deal where I would make more per pay-per-view buy than anybody in history. If I hit my historical numbers, which I know we would have been able to exceed, I would have made as much as I did in my entire career. I was like, ‘Hell yeah, Dana. High five. Thanks.’

The ex-WWE star then explained that UFC’s corporate priorities took over and they did not want to set a precedent by offering her the money she desired as it would cause a ripple effect.

They are now a publicly traded company… They didn’t want to set a precedent of giving me the guaranteed money that I deserve because once I raise that tide, it lifts all the boats.

Dana is now legally obligated to maximize shareholder value… It no longer made sense for me to go over there because they didn’t want to pay us the money we deserve, because then, for the rest of the time of the deal, they’re going to have to pay everybody else more. I decided to look elsewhere. [H/T: Ringside News]

Also read: CM Punk Issues Major Warning To Ronda Rousey Before MMA Return