Imago
Credits: IMAGO
Imago
Credits: IMAGO
Ronda Rousey has gone on the record with some of the most pointed criticism of a UFC executive in recent memory. Ever since her fight against Gina Carano was announced, the former bantamweight champion has taken multiple shots at the promotion while singling out one executive in particular, and she has a reason for it.
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For those who don’t know, Rousey had first approached the UFC for a fight with the women’s MMA great. However, when things went nowhere, she had to pivot and find a new partner in Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian and their Most Valuable Promotions. So, while appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show, the 39-year-old laid out in detail why her negotiations with the UFC over the Gina Carano bout fell apart and placed the blame squarely on Hunter Campbell.
“It wasn’t personal,” Rousey told Helwani. “Well, with Hunter, it was personal because he was just a f—ing a–hole about it. He was just being such a chauvinist prick, and he was being so dismissive and trying to get me and Gina to value ourselves less from the get-go, and acting like this wasn’t the greatest thing that has fallen into his lap since he’s f—ing been there.
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“He was like, ‘You guys are just so much older. I don’t know how it’s going to do.’ Who the f–k is this guy? I didn’t even know who he was. I was told he’s the ‘lawyer’ [who’s] going to come and show you your pay-per-view numbers. I was like, ‘Fine. I don’t care. I’m going to knock this out of the park. I love having my pay be performance-based. F–k you, I’ll go show you.’”
The pair is now scheduled to face each other on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, live on Netflix. However, her resentment toward UFC’s Chief Business Officer runs deep since Dana White originally wanted the fight in the UFC when Rousey was still active in the promotion.
Ronda Rousey explains her real issue with Hunter Campbell:
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 11, 2026
"He was being so dismissive and just trying to get me and Gina to value ourselves less from the get-go.
He was like, 'Oh, I know, you guys are just so much older and I just don't know how it's gonna do.'
It just really… pic.twitter.com/hhi6cHMAws
“Dana mentioned that 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,” Rousey explained. “Then Hunter was like, ‘Yeah, then we can get rid of that division.’ Just the way that he spoke of it, and how dismissive he was—the disdain that he had for the fighters of that weight.
“I’m like … This is what you think—women [who] are heavier at 135 pounds can’t offer you anything? That they’re worthless? That they’re worth scoffing at?’ It just really rubbed me the wrong way that this f—ing guy is the person [who’s] going to be shepherding the company that I helped build. I was actually talking to my mom about it… I was like, ‘Mom, do you know who Hunter Campbell is?’ She was like, ‘Yeah, he’s a f—ing a–hole. Screw that guy.’ Why don’t you like him? ‘He’d sell tickets to Christians being fed to lions.’”
Ronda Rousey noted that her mother, AnnaMaria De Mars, is a member of the California State Athletic Commission. And she had met with Campbell to discuss how to get state approval for slap-fighting in Dana White’s Power Slap league. Rousey claimed that Campbell told her mother that fighters would be “doing meth in a trailer park” if they weren’t on Power Slap.
“That’s what you think of the fighters? We are glorified bum fights to this guy,” Rousey added. “This guy does not have a job because he’s good at it; he has a job because he is Dana and Lorenzo [Fertitta’s] lawyer’s son. He was a f—ing intern when I was there before, and now he’s f—ing coming up to me saying, ‘I don’t know how you and Gina are going to do.’
“Like motherf—er, I’m going to put on a bigger fight with Gina than you have your entire f—ing career. Keep trying to fail upwards, motherf—er. Keep trying to suck the right d—s in the right order. I’m f—ing coming for your job. You f—ing pissed off the wrong b–ch. I told Dana, ‘The last thing you want me to do is leave this office with something to prove, because this motherf—er is pissing me off, and now I have something to prove.”
In any case, though, Hunter Campbell may have really fumbled the bag by alienating Rousey because now they’re unlikely to get a second chance.
Ronda Rousey believes the Gina Carano fight is her last
On the same show, the 39-year-old revealed that her fight against Gina Carano will be her last appearance inside a cage. Ahead of Saturday’s main event on Netflix, Rousey explained why the Carano bout feels like the perfect ending to her storied career.
“This is the peak, I can’t go higher than this. This is the dream fight. This is the absolute pinnacle, I think, for me,” Rousey said. “This is the perfect way to end it.”
The former UFC bantamweight champion also compared continuing her career to a television series that overstays its welcome.
“There will always be fights,” Rousey stated. “There’s nothing bigger than this, this is it… we need to end at the peak.”
It appears the upcoming fight means far more to Ronda Rousey than simply proving she still has it. She seemingly wants the event’s success to serve as the ultimate rebuttal to Hunter Campbell.
Written by
Edited by
Gokul Pillai