Ronda Rousey says the UFC ‘used to be anti-establishment, and now it’s become the establishment’

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 10: Ronda Rousey speaks onstage during Netflix's Ronda Rousey x Gina Carano Los Angeles MMA Press Conference at Intuit Dome on March 10, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Melina Pizano/Getty Images for Netflix) | Getty Images for Netflix Ronda Rousey wants to shake the UFC out of its stupor. Next month, Rousey returns to MMA for the first time in nearly a decade when she fights Gina Carano in the main event of MVP MMA 1.

In the pre-fight press conference for the event last month, Rousey was more critical of the UFC than she had ever been, saying the promotion had stagnated and was resting on its laurels. And behind the scenes, she was even harsher. In a video posted on her YouTube account on Friday, Rousey revealed new behind-the-scenes footage of her before the MVP MMA 1 press conference, where she again ripped into the UFC.

“I feel like we’re in a crossroads for the sport, and this is the beginning of a big change that is long overdue,” Rousey said. “I meant it when I said that the UFC is suffering from a lack of competition. They’ve become too comfortable with being the dominant force in the industry, and just making fighters offers where they go, ‘Take it or leave it, what else are you going to do?

’ “It used to be that UFC was the best way to make money in combat sports. Now it’s becoming the worst place to make money in combat sports. It used to be anti-establishment, and now it’s become the establishment.