Khamzat Chimaev has pushed back against Ronda Rousey’s criticism of UFC fighter pay, arguing that the promotion was fundamental to making her career possible in the first place.
Chimaev posted a video ahead of his UFC 328 middleweight title defense against Sean Strickland on May 9, taking direct aim at Rousey’s ongoing complaints about compensation during her time with the UFC.
“There would never have been Ronda Rousey without UFC,” Chimaev stated in the video.
The comment frames Chimaev’s position clearly: whatever frustrations Rousey has expressed about pay, the platform the UFC provided was the foundation for everything that followed, including her Hollywood career, her WWE run, and her status as the most recognizable name in the history of women’s MMA.
Rousey has been a consistent critic of the UFC’s pay structure since retiring from competition, and her comments have continued ahead of her May 16 return against Gina Carano at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood on Netflix. Chimaev’s response adds the voice of the promotion’s current middleweight champion to a debate that has included fighters on both sides.
Chimaev enters his first title defense with a perfect 15-0 record. UFC 328 takes place May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.