'Derogatory' Strickland wants Rousey-Carano tickets

Ronda Rousey holds up her fist and is next to a shirtless Sean Strickland — Image caption,
Ronda Rousey (left) has won 12 of her 14 fights as a mixed martial artist

ByBobbie JacksonBBC Sport journalist

Published1 hour ago

Ronda Rousey says she is glad UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland must get her approval before being given tickets for Saturday's fight with Gina Carano.

Rousey, the first woman to be signed by the UFC in 2012, and MMA trailblazer and fellow American Carano have come out of retirement to headline a card at the Intuit Dome in California.

Speaking about the event in February, Strickland said women were "too empowered", that they should focus on domestic duties and that he had "no interest" in the bout.

However, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said on Thursday: "I got a request from Sean Strickland, but I need to talk to Ronda because he was very derogatory about Ronda and Gina."

He added: "He was disrespectful and saying inappropriate things.

"While we would love to have him as a UFC champion, you can't disrespect the headliners and call for free tickets."

Asked about Strickland's request, Rousey laughed and said: "Sure, he can come.

"I'm glad it has to go through me now. Come on over. We can convert anyone."

Rousey, 39, won an Olympic bronze medal in judo in 2008 before transitioning into mixed martial arts in 2011 and becoming one of the sport's biggest stars.

Carano, 44, set the wheels in motion for women to compete in MMA, but retired in 2009 and went on pursue acting opportunities.

This weekend's card marks MVP's first venture into MMA and will be broadcast to a global audience on Netflix, with former UFC fighters Francis Ngannou, Nate Diaz and Mike Perry on the undercard.

American Strickland also said that even the "softest" man could beat former two-weight UFC champion Amanda Nunes.

Brazil's Nunes, who is expected to make her return to the UFC this year after retiring in 2023, said: "We do everything he said, and to top it all off, lol, we're fighters too. Don't cry."

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Figure caption,

Strickland went 'too far' with Chimaev comments

Strickland won the UFC middleweight title for a second time by beating Khamzat Chimaev by split decision on Sunday.

In the build-up to the fight Strickland used derogatory and racist language to attack Chimaev's religion and heritage.

Chimaev goaded Strickland with comments about childhood trauma, which he has spoken about in the past.

Strickland also threatened to shoot Russian-Emirati Chimaev, who is a practising Muslim.

"I'm Muslim and seeing some of the stuff he was saying about Muslims was very disrespectful," Bidarian said.

"I understand there is a little bit of build-up, but it feels like it went a bit too far.

"The sport has never been more in front of the media, so then it's about whether it's appropriate to be platforming this stuff - that's the consideration."

After the fight Strickland apologised and said he went "too hard", but later criticised MMA journalist Ariel Helwani for saying you "can't walk back" from those comments.