Ronda Rousey isn’t holding back when it comes to UFC’s Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell and his assessment of her marketability. Speaking at the Napa Knockout charity event, Rousey addressed Campbell’s dismissive comments about promoting veteran athletes.
According to Rousey, Campbell told Gina Carano directly that “he didn’t know how he was going to market a couple of 40-year-olds.”
That comment clearly stuck with the former UFC champion, and the success of her recent MVP MMA event with Carano provided the perfect response.
“It was extremely validating,” Rousey said about the event’s massive success. “It’s not that he doesn’t know how to market us, it’s he doesn’t know how to market anybody and he missed a huge opportunity letting us go.”
The MVP MMA event featuring Rousey and Carano generated 17 million views, a number that speaks for itself in validating her drawing power. Rousey didn’t stop there, taking aim at Campbell’s business decisions and their long-term impact on the UFC.
“He in his own arrogance basically allowed us to create the Lamborghini to his Ferrari and he created the hugest rival that the UFC is ever going to have just because he’s so arrogant and chauvinist,” Rousey stated.
The comments highlight a growing tension between established combat sports stars and UFC leadership. Rousey emphasized the importance of making MMA events feel special rather than routine weekend programming.
“It’s just becoming on every weekend background noise and it needs to be event,” she explained.
Looking forward, Rousey hopes MVP MMA continues creating major events, whether she’s involved or not. She believes Nate Diaz should remain a mainstay of the promotion, given the success of their first collaboration.
Beyond the promotional rivalry, Rousey remains focused on athlete welfare. At the CSAC event, she advocated for California’s groundbreaking pension program for athletes, the first of its kind in boxing and MMA.
“A lot of people, most of the people in the sport do not make enough to retire on throughout their career,” Rousey noted, emphasizing that the sport needs to support all figh ters, not just top earners.
