Rousey explained that the original plan involved staging the fight under the UFC banner around New Year’s Eve under the promotion’s traditional pay-per-view structure.
“I wanted to bring it to him first,” Rousey said, referring to White. “I said, ‘I know I can do it on my own, but I’d rather fight for you than fight for me. Just make it make sense for me.’
According to Rousey, the fight was initially booked as the last fight to take place under the company’s pay-per-view model before the promotion moved deeper into the distribution of the streaming era.
She said the plan changed when Carano asked for additional time to prepare, pushing the fight timeline past the original target date.
“We were originally going to do a New Year’s Eve, and that was going to be the last fight under the pay-per-view model,” Rousey said.
Once the timeline shifted, the deal with the UFC fell apart, and Rousey began exploring other options to stage the fight.
Rousey indicated that the company’s evolving business model also plays a role in the stalled negotiations.
“Once they moved into the streaming model, it’s just not about the best fights possible anymore,” she said.
The fight will now headline an MMA event promoted by Jake Paul and Nikisa Bidarian’s Most Valuable Promotions and will stream live on Netflix, marking the platform’s first MMA broadcast.
Rousey and Carano are widely considered two of the most recognizable figures in women’s mixed martial arts, although the match never materialized during their active careers.
The fight is scheduled for May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
