Ronda Rousey says her Gina Carano fight was meant to be for a UFC title before talks fell apart

Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images for Netflix

Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano met for the first time on-screen after talk of an Octagon comeback came to nothing.

Rousey, who recently featured in a new film with Carano, has been open about her frustrations with how things are run behind the scenes at the UFC.

Rousey’s fight against Carano isn’t even seen as the biggest main event on that day, with Claudia Gadelha vs Joanna Jedrzejczyk 2 and Phil Davis vs Ilir Latifi standing out over it.

“Ronda just went back to Netflix,” White said when explaining what happened after. “She wasn’t interested in coming back now. She missed her window.” But White didn’t let that ruin things. He already had plans in mind to add extra stakes if the fight took place inside the Octagon.

Ronda Rousey claims Dana White proposed a featherweight title clash with Gina Carano

Photo by Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images

Ronda Rousey has said that once it was clear she wouldn’t be returning to the UFC, Dana White encouraged her to build a career outside the organisation.

Speaking ahead of her fight, ‘Rowdy’ mentioned that there were initial discussions about her and Gina Carano competing for the women’s featherweight title inside the Octagon.

After Amanda Nunes vacated the belt in 2023, Rousey told The Ariel Helwani Show that this fight was intended as a way for the UFC to “retire the belt” permanently.

The decision also played into Rousey’s ongoing criticism of UFC executive Hunter Campbell. She hasn’t held back in interviews, especially when discussing his role in dismantling women’s divisions within the promotion.