First We Feast, YouTube
When Ronda Rousey was in the UFC, she kept her contract negotiations simple. She bet on herself every time.
On the Thursday episode of the First We Feast YouTube show Hot Wings, the former bantamweight champion turned WWE star was asked to compare her experiences dealing with the MMA, professional wrestling and movie world. She took pride in becoming a major draw for the UFC and reaping the benefits.
“With the UFC I always am very much about betting on myself,” Rousey said. “I care about the back-end. Pay me whatever you think is fair, all I really care about is having some stake in how well this does and I’ll make sure it does really f*cking well.
“I’ve never really cared about money, so I’ve never really had a problem with anybody. Anybody that hires me is like, ‘F*ck yeah,’ I’m not really nickel or diming anybody. I have people that help me out with that stuff – just let me know when I can sign a thing and I’m gonna show up and I’m gonna do f*cking awesome and everyone’s gonna be happy. So far it’s been working out.”
Rousey also recalled an amusing anecdote from her past, when a commentator dared to critique her armbar technique during one of her MMA fights.
“A lot of people would teach, ‘Oh, you’re supposed to turn your toes in and squeeze with your knees,’” Rousey said. “Where I always crossed my ankles, would bring my heels into my butt, and open my knees.
“I remember watching the commentary of one of my fights and one of the commentaries was like, ‘She just needs to squeeze her knees a little bit.’ And I’m like, ‘Shut the f*ck up. You don’t even know what you’re talking about. My armbar’s perfect. F*ck you.’”