TKO President Says Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano Fight Was 'Stunt,' Not Good for MMA Long Term

While the fight between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano on Saturday might have garnered plenty of hype and attention, TKO president Mark Shapiro doesn't view it as a legit bout.

Shapiro, who is also the COO of the UFC's parent company, called the fight between Rousey and Carano a "stunt."

"For us, it was more of a stunt than a meaningful MMA event," Shapiro said, per Sports Business Journal.

Additionally, Shapiro said that he believes the fight is not good for the sport of MMA.

"I don't believe that a fight like that, just the way it played out, is really good for MMA, especially because it's Netflix," Shapiro said. "They have such an incredible global audience and it's a massive audience. It's a highly engaged audience that is going to sample, depending on what comes up on the front page with Netflix. For them to then go to that fight and then think that's what MMA is, I don't believe is good for the sport long term. And we saw it that way and decided to pass on it. Taking nothing away from the legend, obviously, that Ronda Rousey is, and the win that she got."

The fight was the first MMA event for Netflix. UFC is currently tied to Paramount+ after a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal was reached in August.

Whether a stunt or not, the fight between Rousey and Carano perhaps didn't live up to the hype, as it lasted just 17 seconds, with Rousey winning by submission.