Ronda Rousey hasn’t fought in the UFC in nearly a decade but she maintains a close relationship with Dana White all these years later.
The UFC CEO speaks glowingly about the former bantamweight champion and Hall of Famer and she often returns the favor whenever his name comes up. In fact, Rousey believes White is the beating heart of the UFC and the day that he decides to call it quits is when the promotion may no longer hold onto that No. 1 position in all of combat sports.
“When Dana’s done, I think the dominant MMA organization title will be up for grabs. I think Dana is it. Without him, it’s just three letters.”
It’s hard to argue with White’s influence over the sport after he teamed up with Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta to buy the promotion in 2001 for around $2 million before transforming the UFC into a company that eventually sold to Endeavor for over $4 billion. The company is now valued at more than triple that much and just recently inked a massive $7.7 billion deal to move the UFC’s broadcast rights from ESPN to Paramount in 2026.
According to Rousey, that also speaks to White’s dedication to the business where he always puts the UFC first versus a boss she had after becoming a professional wrestler in WWE. Following the final fight of her career in 2016, Rousey crossed over to become a superstar in WWE when Vince McMahon was still running the show. Rousey learned quickly there was a huge difference between working for White and working for McMahon.
“Dana White wants his company to be as successful as possible and make as much money as possible,” Rousey said. “I think he’s got a lot to prove in that space. He’s got that new money kind of veneer. He wants to earn his respect in that space with all of his peers.
“I think Vince didn’t really care how successful the company [was] or how much money he was making. He cared about how much influence he had on other people culturally. He was trying to impress his viewpoint on the world on everybody else through that. The bottom line be damned.”
That said, Rousey definitely preferred working for White if for no other reason that she clearly understood his motivations.
“I mean I’m a capitalist,” Rousey said. “So [I pick] Dana.”
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