Ronda Rousey Reveals Dana White's Text Message About Historic Fight vs. Gina Carano in New Video

Ronda Rousey divulged that UFC President Dana White sent her an encouraging text before her victory over Gina Carano on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters after she beat Carano by submission in 17 seconds in what was her first MMA bout in nearly a decade (beginning at the 15:50 mark of the video), Rousey said, "[White] did send me a text this morning. He said good luck and that he hopes me and Gina kill it. I just told him how much it meant to me to hear that from him. He's been an incredible friend to me, and I'm here because of him. I'm eternally grateful, and I really appreciate him giving me his blessing to go out and do this on my own."

Rousey first rose to superstardom in UFC, fighting eight times for the promotion from 2013 to 2016 following a stint with Strikeforce. However, while it was widely expected that she would return to UFC if she ever fought again following her hiatus, her return bout took place Saturday under the banner of Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions.

Currently, UFC and WWE are under the same umbrella, which is fitting since Rousey made waves in both companies over the course of her career.

Known collectively as TKO, UFC and WWE both benefited from Rousey's star power and put her in big spots on their respective cards.

After doing huge business in eight fights for UFC, Rousey transitioned to pro wrestling and had two stints with WWE, which saw her hold three women's world titles and one women's tag team title.

She also won a women's Royal Rumble match and participated in the first women's match to ever main event a WrestleMania.

Rousey departed WWE in 2022, and after taking some time away, she shocked the wrestling world in March of this year by making an appearance at AEW's Revolution pay-per-view.

The 39-year-old veteran later admitted in a video on her YouTube channel (beginning at the 2:33 mark of the video) that the appearance was a "little bit of a f--k you" to TKO:

On top of that, Rousey expressed some level of annoyance over UFC announcing Conor McGregor's return bout against Max Holloway on the same day as her MMA return.

Speaking to reporters about the timing of the announcement, Rousey said, "It's kind of catty. It also shows they see MVP MMA as a threat that they would do that at that moment and do that at that time. I feel like it's also a compliment because it elevates MVP MMA, and they're declaring they see us as a real rival."

Despite seemingly harboring some negative feelings toward UFC and TKO as a whole, Rousey appears to still hold White in high regard, and her comments suggest that she greatly appreciated him reaching out to her on Saturday.