Ronda Rousey is coming back after nine years to face Gina Carano under Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. The spectacle is all set to stream on Netflix, and fans are already ecstatic about the showdown. However, as ‘Rowdy’ prepares to make the walk on May 16, a question that has lingered for a long time resurfaced. Why did she choose MVP over the UFC? Well, it turns out the former champ had a hidden motive.

According to the first-ever UFC women’s champion, she is helping Dana White while choosing to fight under Paul’s promotion. How? Rousey believes White’s promotion lacks competition, and she wants to uplift the company by providing a much-needed healthy rivalry. 

Ronda Rousey wants to become Dana White’s competition 

“The story and everything behind it, it’s not just this fight. A lot of this is MVP vs. UFC, and that’s where I want to go real hard in the trenches. We’re helping them as they are suffering from a lack of competition,” Rousey told Most Valuable Promotions. “And they just can’t make a class action lawsuit every couple of years as a cost of doing business. So, I’m really trying to help Dana out. And if anyone has tried to be as appreciative, it’s been me. I think I’ll be the most favorite adversary he has ever had,” she added.

When it comes to Ronda Rousey and Dana White’s relationship, both have remained friendly even after ‘Rowdy’ ended her career in the UFC. At one point, the UFC boss even called the promotion the former champ’s home. For that reason, Rousey even pitched the idea of fighting Gina Carano in the UFC. Still, White ended up refusing the proposal. The reason? The new payment structure under Paramount+.

The former 135 lbs queen revealed on Jim Rome’s show that she and the UFC CEO couldn’t agree to a deal, as PPV points were not available under the new broadcasting era after moving away from that model. Instead, she joined Jake Paul and his team, where she secured the desired terms that ultimately made the fight happen, a move industry experts like Chael Sonnen have called groundbreaking.

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Now, as Rousey has expressed her hidden intention to bring competition to Dana White’s promotion, time will reveal how the UFC will respond to her ambitious callout. But, for now, the company’s boss appears nothing but happy to see one of the most revered athletes of his establishment coming back into the spotlight. 

White reacts to ‘Rowdy’s comeback to competition

After Ronda Rousey joined Jake Paul’s promotion, fans have been eager to know what Dana White would have to say about the move. Many expected the UFC head honcho would cause some drama, as one of his harsh critics entered the MMA market, that too with his company’s former star athlete. However, the 56-year-old showed a completely different reaction while talking about the Rousey vs. Gina Carano matchup.

“Her and I have been talking about this since last year,” White said about Rousey at the UFC Houston post-fight press conference. “It just didn’t work out. But I’m happy for her. Listen, me and Gina are in a really good place. We weren’t at one point. I’m happy for both of them.”

Well, most of us are aware of Dana White’s history with Ronda Rousey. But Gina Carano? That might be new to many. For the unfamiliar, the former Strikeforce featherweight title challenger wanted to fight in the UFC. But their deal always fell through, which Carano blamed on the UFC CEO’s negotiations. Because of that, both had been distant. However, the animosity seems to have been resolved after many years.

That said, as the MMA world is about to see a fascinating spectacle in a couple of months, do you think Jake Paul’s promotion would actually give the UFC’s dominance a much-needed challenge? Let us know in the comments section below.