Dana White has claimed that his relationship with Gina Carano has improved quite a bit, despite the actual fact he couldn’t promote her fight with Ronda Rousey.
The UFC boss has famously been Rousey’s biggest supporter throughout the years, even making a rare appearance at WrestleMania to support her when she switched the octagon for the ring. So it was a shock when Netflix announced that her return to MMA can be on their platform as an alternative of the UFC.
What was less surprising was that Carano won’t work with the promotion, particularly after an infamously ill-fated negotiation for a Rousey fight back in 2014. But White insists that he’s supportive of each women as they prepare for a ground-breaking showcase on May 16.
- Who’s Dana White? All it’s essential to know in regards to the CEO and President of the UFC
Dana White reacts to Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano announcement
Following UFC Houston tonight, Dana White spoke with the media for the primary time after an enormous week of stories within the combat sports world. One key query surrounded his involvement, or lack thereof, in Ronda Rousey’s return to MMA.
White brought her in from Strikeforce as the primary woman to fight for a world title within the UFC after notoriously claiming he would never stage a female bout. She went on to change into one in all his biggest stars before retiring in 2016.
Now, she is back within the cage, however it won’t be under White’s watch. Nevertheless, he seems apathetic about the whole thing, insisting that it simply ‘didn’t work out’.
“Ronda and I even have been talking about this since last yr and it just didn’t work out,” White told the media today. “I’m glad… Listen, me and Gina are in a very good place, we weren’t at one point and I’m glad for each of them.”
Ronda Rousey opened up about Dana White talks in recent interview
Rousey made an appearance on the Jim Rome show to debate the upcoming fight recently, and discussed how close the bout was to being made under the UFC banner. It seems that the shift away from pay-per-view under the brand new Paramount deal made it in order that the deal wasn’t tenable.
“How do I put it? They didn’t wish to set a precedent of giving me the guaranteed money that I deserve because once I raise that tide it lifts all of the boats,” she said.
“They simply made a $7.7 billion deal at Paramount so it’s of their best interest actually to not placed on the perfect fights possible but to spend as little money as possible so that they can keep it.”
She later added that “Dana’s now legally obligated to maximise shareholder revenue. It’s not nearly proving the concept of fighting and putting on the perfect fights possible and proving that this can be a sport to be taken seriously.
“I feel now that they’ve sold the corporate, it’s sort of out of Dana’s hands unfortunately.”