Ronda Rousey is confident her upcoming return to MMA will make a major splash — and she’s not shy about saying so at the UFC’s expense.
On Wednesday, Rousey responded to coverage of her announced fight against Gina Carano, set for May 16 on Netflix, by taking a direct shot at her former employers. “This rivalry has so many layers – @netflix isnt playing around – bet you we can beat @paramountplus @ufc numbers,” she wrote on X.
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It’s the second public statement from Rousey since the fight was announced. She previously praised Most Valuable Promotions as the “fighter-first” promotion.
The comparison isn’t exactly apples-to-apples, however. Netflix is available in significantly more homes than UFC’s streaming partner, with more than 325 million paid subscribers worldwide at the end of 2025. Paramount+ had approximately 79.1 million subscribers as of Q3 2025 — less than a quarter of Netflix’s footprint.
Interestingly, while Rousey’s marketing push involves taking shots at the UFC, she admitted on ESPN SportsCenter on Tuesday (Feb. 17) that she actually approached Dana White first about the Carano fight. “It didn’t exactly work out,” she said, which is what led her to partnering with MVP. MMA News previously reported on the UFC passing on the fight.
Rousey vs. Carano on May 16 marks the return of one of MMA’s most anticipated potential matchups, a rivalry that dates back to both women’s time as the faces of women’s MMA in the sport’s early mainstream growth period.
