Ronda Rousey fires back at Khamzat Chimaev before comeback fight

Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey has hit back at Khamzat Chimaev ahead of her comeback bout against Gina Carano on Saturday’s MVP MMA Netflix card.

Speaking at the event’s final press conference, Rousey responded to criticism from Chimaev, who recently accused her of being “ungrateful” towards the UFC after she questioned fighter pay within the promotion.

Before his defeat to middleweight champion Sean Strickland at UFC 328, Chimaev said in a YouTube video.

“There never would have been Ronda Rousey without the UFC… I hate this. If they pay good or they don’t pay good, who cares? When she was Olympic champ, what did she make then?”

Rousey did not hold back in her response.

“F—ing cleft-lip Lincoln is just hating because at his press conference for his fight, people are asking about me and my fight because no one gives a sh— about his ineffectual wrestle-f— fests,” Rousey said.

She added: “People actually can’t stop talking about this fight because it’s so stacked and they’re actually excited to see me fight because, unlike Kumquat, I have a 100 percent finish rate.”

Despite her criticism of the UFC’s current ownership, Rousey insisted she still respected former executives Dana White and the Fertitta family.

“I would want to make something abundantly clear, and that’s I owe Dana and the Fertittas immensely,” she said. “But my loyalty is to them and not the company that they sold. I do not owe TKO’s UFC a damn thing.”

Rousey also praised Carano before their fight, saying: “We don’t need to hate each other to give each other our best.”