Ronda Rousey Says Conor McGregor Should 'Be So Pissed' About How Dana White Announced UFC Return

Ronda Rousey expressed her belief Thursday that UFC lessened the impact of Conor McGregor's return announcement by doing it on the same day as her fight against Gina Carano.

During an appearance on Up & Adams, Rousey noted that she would have been upset with UFC had she been in McGregor's shoes:

"Instead of letting Conor be the main headline of the day, they basically blew that wad in the middle of our card to try to pull away from it," Rousey said. ... "Man, I would be so pissed if I was Conor. And just would be almost buried--the news of his comeback being buried because it was announced during our card. It just adds that storyline of the UFC and MVP being juxtaposed to one another. I'm like, it's just such a dumb move."

In the midst of Most Valuable Promotions' MMA card on May 16, which was headlined by the returns of Rousey and Carano to the sport, UFC announced that McGregor is returning to face Max Holloway at UFC 329 on July 11:

After beating Carano by submission in just 17 seconds, Rousey made her feelings known about the timing of the announcement by UFC and promotion president Dana White.

"It's kind of catty," Rousey told reporters (2:30 mark of video). "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."

Rousey is one of UFC's biggest stars of all time, so it came as a surprise to many when she decided to make her MMA return under Jake Paul's MVP banner rather than with UFC.

Announcing McGregor's return during the card could be viewed as UFC's attempt to shift the narrative and conversation away from Rousey and MVP.

Regardless of UFC's intent, McGregor's return to the Octagon is a huge deal given that he has not fought since UFC 264 in July 2021.

McGregor lost three of his past four fights, but he is among UFC's all-time biggest draws much like Rousey, so his return figures to do big business for the promotion.