Jake Paul, who co-owns Most Valuable Promotions, says Ronda Rousey would out-earn UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria if she fights Gina Carano on an MVP event. The claim centers on a potential crossover-style booking that would instantly draw attention in both MMA and combat sports media, especially given Rousey’s mainstream name recognition in the United States.
Paul made the point while discussing the money attached to the proposed matchup, framing it as a larger payday than Topuria receives for his UFC appearances. The comment taps into a familiar debate around fighter compensation, one that has followed the UFC for years whenever rival promoters or outside stars enter the conversation.
For American fans, the angle is obvious: Rousey remains one of the few former UFC champions whose name still cuts through beyond hardcore MMA audiences. Even after stepping away from active competition, she carries crossover value that many current titleholders do not. Carano has a similar legacy factor, making the matchup more about star power and nostalgia than divisional consequences.
That is also what separates this from a standard UFC business comparison. Topuria is in his athletic prime and coming off the kind of run that has elevated him into the sport’s elite tier, but UFC pay has long been judged differently from what promoters might offer for one-off attraction fights. In the U.S. media landscape, that contrast is exactly why Paul’s statement will get traction.
Paul’s quote was direct: he said he knows what Rousey would make for the event, and that it would be "much more" than what Topuria earns for his fights.
If the Rousey-Carano fight ever moves from talk to contract, the real story will be whether star-driven combat events can still command premium money in a crowded market. Until then, Paul’s remarks keep the spotlight on the same unresolved issue: how much top-level fighters are really worth, and who is willing to pay it.