Ronda Rousey on Wednesday blasted Kayla Harrison over remarks Harrison made in March, denying that she made up a story about training in judo in Canada in 2006 and saying the UFC champion had crossed a line.
Rousey said she was in Canada for five months in 2006 and that Harrison was nowhere near that training session. She described herself as someone who has spent more than a decade and a half cultivating a reputation for being bluntly truthful, then accused Harrison of getting caught in a lie. “Who the f*ck are you to call me a liar?” Rousey said, adding, “Bitch, you weren’t even there.”
The exchange escalates a feud that started when Harrison called Rousey irrelevant in March while preparing to defend her UFC title against Amanda Nunes. Rousey answered by pointing to Harrison’s own past comments, including a claim that Rousey looked after her when she was broke in Japan and bought her groceries. “How about you shut the f*ck up and eat your groceries?” Rousey said.
The timing gives the comments extra force. Harrison’s fight with Nunes was originally scheduled for UFC 324 in January before being delayed after Harrison underwent neck surgery. Rousey, meanwhile, has not fought since 2016, when she suffered a second straight knockout loss before leaving the promotion. Nunes handed Rousey that final defeat, and Rousey used the moment to turn the focus back on legacy, saying Harrison was trying to talk down to someone whose path helped shape women’s MMA.
Rousey and Harrison once shared time on the same U.S. judo team, but their careers have moved in sharply different directions since then. Rousey is an Olympic bronze medalist in judo, while Harrison is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. Rousey also brought Gina Carano into the dispute, calling her the reason the 145-pound division even existed and saying Harrison could not keep the division around. Carano has not competed since 2009, and Rousey said the larger point was that both women still operate in the shadow of the fighters who helped build the sport.
The dispute is about more than one exchange of insults. It is a reminder that in combat sports, history never stays buried for long, and the old hierarchy still matters when the names at the top start talking.
