Ronda Rousey Gets Praised by Dana White Despite Heated Attack Towards UFC Brass

Throughout the buildup to her upcoming fight with Gina Carano, Ronda Rousey has incessantly aimed at the UFC brass. She has criticized them constantly, with UFC CBO Hunter Campbell in particular being the focus of Rousey’s ire. However, all this time, she has surprisingly kept UFC CEO Dana White off the hook.

Rousey last competed in the UFC and MMA as a whole back in 2016, losing to Amanda Nunes via a first-round knockout. Now, she is set to make her comeback to the cage against Gina Carano after a nearly decade-long absence. Rousey not being able to come to terms with the UFC is where the disagreement with her former employers began.

Rousey accused Hunter Campbell of trying to sabotage the deal. She alleged that he asked her to fight other people, while discrediting Gina Carano by questioning her seriousness and ability to make weight for the fight. But even in that statement, Rousey defended Dana White. Moreover, it seems that loyalty goes both ways, judging from White’s revelation about the moment he knew Rousey would be a star.

White told WFAN that he knew he had placed the bet for the future of women’s MMA on the right person during Rousey’s fight with Liz Carmouche. The UFC CEO revealed that he walked into the arena and his trust in Rousey was instantly validated.

That night, Ronda is walking out of the tunnel. The place is sold out, and the place is going crazy. I was like, all right, this was the right move, man. And then the rest is history on the Ronda run and how that all played out. And now, you know, she built and is the reason that women’s MMA exists… And the greatest athlete I ever worked with.

Dana White via WFAN

Dana White on Ronda Rousey: She built and is the reason that women's MMA exists…and the greatest athlete I ever worked with.

Watch the full interview here: https://t.co/NLYjy7SacH pic.twitter.com/F6w98Q6DoX

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 7, 2026

White revealed that he faced copious amounts of backlash after announcing Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche as the main event over Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson. However, that moment was a huge milestone that helped legitimize women’s MMA as a sport.

Recently, Rousey expressed her admiration for how Dana White grew the UFC into the global, industry-leading giant it has become today. She revealed her desire to be a similar figure in the future of MVP. But it isn’t just Dana White who recently expressed their admiration for Ronda Rousey. A former Olympic gold medalist also reiterated Rousey’s “baddest woman on the planet” moniker recently.

Ronda Rousey gets credit from Olympic gold medalist for building the UFC women’s divisions

Like Kurt Angle, Ronda Rousey is an Olympic medalist. She won the Bronze medal in Judo at the 2008 Olympics, while Angle won his gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Their paths following the Olympics diverged greatly, but ultimately collided when the pair beat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in Rousey’s WWE debut.

The Olympic gold medalist, who once said Rousey would be “tough to wrestle,” recently reasserted her status as the “baddest woman on the planet”. Moreover, much like Dana White, Angle also gave Rousey credit for helping women’s MMA get to its current stature. Previously, Angle had also credited Rousey for helping assemble the first women’s match to headline WrestleMania.

She is the baddest woman on the planet…I think that her legendary status will always be there, regardless of whether she wins or loses this fight. She actually made the UFC, the women’s division, legitimate. She was the first one. She was the pioneer, and she made it that Dana White had to start marketing women. She’s just an amazing athlete.

Kurt Angle via USA Today

Angle told USA Today that he was very impressed by Rousey and very happy about her landing the Gina Carano fight. Moreover, despite saying a loss or win does not matter for Rousey, he still hoped that she’d win, calling it a “nice bonus.”

Ultimately, Angle is right in saying that Ronda Rousey’s legacy has been cemented. However, she can definitely add to it with her plans to shepherd MVP into becoming a legitimate competitor for the UFC.

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