Former UFC exec Eric Winter has boldly claimed a particularly bad matchmaking incident involving former star, Ronda Rousey, led to one of the devastating consequences for boss Dana White.
Winter, who previously headed up UFC Fight Pass with the promotion, left the outfit after two years, citing a need to focus more on his home life and family when 2017 rolled around. But before he quit, Winter managed to get his foot in the door during one of the sport’s golden eras.
Boasting promotional stars including former two-weight champion Conor McGregor during his title ascension year, the outfit also boasted of MMA’s first global star, Ronda Rousey.
However, according to Winter, he had some reservations about her booking at the end of that year by the organizational matchmakers. But his pleas fell on deaf ears.
“My answer in the matchmaker meeting was I don’t want to see another armbar in 30 seconds,” Winter told Sports Business Unplugged. “I wanted to see a good, compelling 50-50 sort of fight,” he claimed.
But he was vetoed by Dana White, who told him that’s what every fan wanted – a 30-second armbar squash fight from the then-bantamweight champion.
“And then the worst thing happened for our company. Ronda gets knocked out. And I mean knocked out unconscious,” Winter exclaimed, still disappointed with that result.
Rousey’s infamous knockout loss to former champion, Holly Holm, in 2015 at UFC 193 ended her historic undefeated streak. Not only would this fight be Rousey’s first loss in professional MMA, but it would also begin a cascading series of events that would end with her pro MMA career in the dirt.
Rousey’s downfall after matchmaking blunder
Finished in brutal fashion via a second-round high kick in Australia, Rousey would not enter the Octagon for an entire year. But when she did make her return, the bantamweight division had seen a stunning change of the guard.
Namely, consensus female GOAT, Amanda Nunes, had assumed the throne. Doing so that summer with a vicious submission win over common foe, Miesha Tate, the Brazilian met Rousey on the final flagship card of the year at UFC 217.
Although fired up, the Olympic bronze medalist would simply look outdated and out of his element against the Bahia striker. Nunes finished Rousey with a blistering 48-second knockout win in Las Vegas.
That would mark the final time Rousey entered the Octagon, before eventually making a professional wrestling move with the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).
But in the years since, Rousey has been linked heavily with a return. Ultimately, to no avail, the Californian ruled out a comeback fight last year. Revealing a slew of neurological issues from competition.
“Every couple years, the same rumor comes out,” Rousey told the Insight podcast about a return. “It’s nice to feel missed, I guess. But it’s not happening. I’m not neurologically fit to compete anymore at the highest level. I just can’t”, she added, closing the chapter on her pro MMA career for good.
