Ronda Rousey‘s war with Dana White has a new target. Ever since her return, she has been adamant about making MVP big enough to compete with UFC. The former UFC bantamweight queen is set to face Gina Carano on May 16 in a card featuring other stellar former fighters from Dana White’s promotion, like Francis Ngannou and Nate Diaz. Now, ‘Rowdy’ just offered another massive name to their growing lineup.
At Netflix’s recent pre-fight press conference, Rousey went scorched earth on the current UFC bantamweight champion, Kayla Harrison. Talking about Harrison’s fight against Amanda Nunes, ‘Rowdy’ dismissed her popularity, saying her undisputed fight was placed under Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje’s interim bout at UFC 324. After saying that, Rousey quickly realized she had demeaned ‘The Baddy’s popularity in the crossfire and immediately called him to join the Netflix card after his UFC contract runs out.
“Her and Hunter [Campbell] were trying to act like her next fight is the biggest women’s fight of all time,” Rousey said during the MVP/Netflix event’s pre-fight presser. “Then why is it being booked as the co-main for a men’s interim title fight? The b— isn’t even bigger than Paddy ‘The Baddy’. No offense to Paddy. I think he’s got more potential than anyone else in the UFC, and he should call me when his contract runs out,” she added.
Well, Paddy Pimblett would be very happy listening to Ronda Rousey singing his praises. For the unversed, the ex-UFC 135 lbs queen previously praised the Liverpudlian as the best present entertainers in the UFC, which Pimblett has acknowledged. Plus, the English superstar also claimed ‘Rowdy’ is “one of the biggest MMA superstars of all time”. So, there’s definitely mutual respect and admiration between them.
However, it’s also true that Pimblett signed a new contract with the promotion back in July 2024, and he is currently ranked #6 in the lightweight division. Though ‘The Baddy’ hasn’t revealed the extent of his contract, we can assume, based on Alex Pereira’s eight-fight deal, that the UFC may have given him a similar duration contract since he’s a big star out of England.
So, Dana White and Co has clearly invested in Paddy, and they wouldn’t want to lose their English star, especially after he has already fought for the interim championship. With that in mind, ‘The Baddy’ might see his future in the UFC for now.
However, if a dispute happens down the line, the Liverpudlian will have a new place to shift. And if MVP successfully gets hold of Pimblett at his best, it would raise the overall quality of their cards, matching him up with Nate Diaz and other superstars. But that’s not all.
Ronda Rousey has also revealed the payment structure of the MVP that could attract many up-and-coming MMA fighters like a magnet.
Ronda Rousey announces minimum pay for fighters under MVP
‘Rowdy’ criticized the UFC brass heavily for underpaying their fighters, something even Joe Rogan has found to be a fair criticism of Dana White’s promotion. But fans were also waiting to hear what the fighters’ payout would be under MVP. Clearing that up, the former UFC champ revealed that fighters will earn a $40,000 flat fee for fighting under Jake Paul’s promotion, which is twice what Dana White’s promotion pays, $10K to show and $10K to win.
“I think it’s really important that we raise the ceiling, but also raise the floor, and one thing that I’m really proud of on this card is that the absolute minimum anybody will walk away with, even if they don’t have a big, long record, and even if they lose, it’s $40,000.
“If you fight three times a year, that is much more than a living wage. That’s something the UFC cannot say,” she added.
Well, that’s definitely good money for an aspiring MMA fighter. However, it seems they won’t have to win money like the UFC does. Moreover, Jake Paul’s promotion hasn’t revealed whether they’re giving out bonus pay for finishes as White’s company does, which pays $100K for Performance and Fight of the Night, along with a mandatory $25K after a finish under Paramount.
That said, with such a thoughtful and robust structure, do you think MVP will soon start competing with the UFC?
