Rousey wants to ‘rewrite ending’ and take on UFC

Ronda Rousey says she wants to “rewrite her ending” in her first MMA bout in ten years against Gina Carano on 16 May.

Carano and Rousey met at a news conference in Los Angeles for the first time before their featherweight bout at the Intuit Dome.

Rousey, 39, held court, slamming the modern UFC, praising its president Dana White and her opponent, before hitting back at claims her encounter with Carano is a “charity” fight.

“The way things ended [in MMA] was really heartbreaking for me,” said Rousey, who was knocked out in her final two UFC fights.

“[Carano] inspired me to pick myself up and to go after the fight I always wanted. This is the biggest fight in MMA right now.

“This isn’t a charity card or nostalgia card, this is the biggest fight in the world. This is fate for us.”

It’s been 10 years since Rousey fought in an MMA bout in the UFC, while 43-year-old Carano is even further removed by 17 years.

Both American fighters will undergo extra concussion tests with Rousey acknowledging she was forced to retire from her UFC career because of repeated concussions.

It has led to criticism of the contest, which will take place under Jake Paul’s promotional outfit MVP, but Rousey pushed those concerns aside as she settled seamlessly back into the persona that made her one of the biggest female athletes on the planet and fired women’s MMA into the mainstream for the first time.

Rousey, who won and finished 12 of her 14 professional fights, waxed lyrical about her opponent’s impact on her as a young fighter, before Carano repaid the compliments.

After the news conference the pair faced off, with Rousey sporting her vintage glare which was greeted by a smile from Carano.

“Obviously the motivation to fight is Ronda asked me. She’s quite the charmer,” said Carano.

In a news conference which was repeatedly interrupted by planes flying overhead, Rousey called herself White’s one true “apprentice” and admitted she tried and failed to make the fight with Carano in the UFC.

“When it didn’t work out with UFC we said we don’t need them, we can do it on our own, just trust me,” Rousey said.

“I thought it was just about me finding my love for the sport and her finding her fire in her eyes but now it’s become much more than that.

“It’s about changing the landscape of the sport and challenging the monolith that the UFC has become.”

Rousey, wearing the trademark leather jacket she donned during her run in the WWE, vented her frustrations at the UFC under its new deal and criticised the fights that have been made.

“I have much love and respect for Dana [White], I wanted to bring this to him first,” she said.

“Once the UFC moved into the streaming model it’s not about putting on the best fights possible anymore. Unfortunately now they’ve taken the reigns of the company away from [Dana] and it’s barely recognisable.”

Rousey criticised the UFC’s pay structure compared to other disciplines, citing sports such as boxing and football as being more enticing to youngsters.

In the UFC, under 20% of revenue goes to fighter pay while in boxing, fighters can expect to receive as much as 60% of event revenue.

“It used to be that UFC was the best place that you could come in combat sports to make a living and be paid fairly and now it’s one of the worst places to go,” Rousey said.

“It’s why so many of their top athletes are leaving to go and find pay elsewhere.”

Last week, UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall signed a “commercial and advisory” deal with boxing promoter Eddie Hearn to maximise his earnings outside of the UFC.

Aspinall said he had “accepted” the terms of his contract with the UFC, but added he wanted to “make as much money outside the octagon” as he could.

Sitting beside Rousey was Francis Ngannou, one of the few modern fighters to voluntarily leave the UFC in pursuit of greater power over his career.

The heavyweight has since earned millions in two boxing matches and will now be the co-main event – alongside Brazil’s Philipe Lins – in the first MMA event live on Netflix.

“They want to low-ball you, but I am happy I am out of that,” he said of the UFC.

The card is being promoted by Paul’s MVP, and the YouTuber-turned-boxer was in attendance to goad former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou.

Paul said he wanted to fight Ngannou last year but the heavyweight refused, before pointing out he lasted six rounds against Anthony Joshua, while Ngannou lasted two.

“I’m down. I’ve always been down. You ran like a duck,” said Paul.