Did Ronda Rousey Get Compensated Fairly in ‘MVP MMA’ After Jake Paul Fought for Higher Pay?

Ronda Rousey reportedly took home $2.2 million for her involvement in Netflix’s MVP MMA event, which was held on Saturday, May 16 — but that number appears to be less than what she’s made in the past.

In the days leading up to Rousey vs. Carano — headlined by women’s MMA stars Rousey, 39, and Gina Carano, 44, and produced by Jake Paul‘s Most Valuable Promotions — Paul spoke multiple times about how he is fighting for fair pay for the fighters.

“I think it’s been a monopoly for so long, run by the UFC, and the fighters haven’t had another place to go where they get the exposure and more pay,” Paul, 29, told Complex (per MMAFighting.com). “And so MVP MMA is providing that with some of the biggest names, and obviously, the biggest streaming platform.”

On Saturday, Rousey came out victorious during the main event, which ended by her signature armbar submission in 17 seconds.

It was reported by MMA Junkie that she took home $2.2 million; however, the publication noted that number doesn’t include “any discretionary bonuses from the promotion, or potential earnings from Netflix viewership numbers and ticket sales.”

According to Bloody Elbow, Rousey took home more than double that amount when she earned $4.88 million in her final UFC fight, in which she was defeated by Amanda Nunes.

While it seems that she was paid more for her 2016 fight with Nunes, Rousey told reporters that she was “compensated, not just for my fighting services.”

“I also was promoting this event as well, so I think it’s literally on the contract that I’m not supposed to tell people,” she said. “But I’m very happy and very grateful, and me and my husband are gonna go house shopping in Hawaii after this.”

She previously said that she was going to be breaking records with her pay.

“The two of us I know are both breaking the record for the highest [pay for women’s fighters in MMA],” she told BBC Sport.

“And I, contractually, don’t think I can say anything,” she added. “Multitudes more [than my UFC fights]. There’s a multiplication sign involved.”

In a 2015 Forbes article, the publication reported that at the time, her total earnings came to $6.5 million. She reportedly earned $3 million in salary/earnings with the other $3.5 million in endorsements from Reebok, Metro PCS, Monster headphones and Carl’s Jr. and other ventures outside the ring.

Netflix’s MVP MMA event was the first MMA event produced by Most Valuable Promotions, which was established in 2021 by Paul and his adviser Nakisa Bidarian.