Jimmy Smith and Ronda Rousey probably won’t be on each others’ holiday card lists anytime soon.
Smith worked as a UFC color commentator in 2018 and as a WWE play-by-play broadcaster for about 16 months starting in 2022.
He currently hosts the MMA-focused show “Unlocking the Cage” on SiriusXM, and on the program Monday leveled some vicious shots at how Rousey treated various employees behind the scenes.
He started off the segment by saying that Rousey wants “all of the credit and none of the blame” for her triumphs and failures in the octagon.
“I don’t talk a lot out of school. I don’t talk about a lot of the things behind the scenes of UFC and WWE,” Smith said.
“Let me let you in on something — Ronda, if you’re listening … The people behind the scenes — camera people, audio people, the people you can push around and bully and talk down to — can’t stand your f–king ass.”
Smith provided clarity on why they would feel this way.
“Everybody behind the scenes that had to put a mic on Ronda Rousey couldn’t stand her,” Smith continued.
“I said, ‘Why?’ They said, ‘She was a bitch to us from the moment she sat down to the moment she got up. Like, it’s our fault she has to do this interview to hype her next fight, and she’s just miserable and she’s mean to us and we can’t stand her.'”
Rousey competed in UFC from 2012-16, and was part of WWE from 2017 through last year.
According to Smith, various UFC staffers were applauding when she started to lose her matches, getting knocked out by Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes.
“They were cheering when she got out. That’s what I was told,” Smith said.
“Because those are the people you can be mean and rude to, and they can’t fight back. Those people couldn’t stand Ronda Rousey.”
The Smith segment came after Rousey did a recent interview with NewsNation about how people around UFC, including Joe Rogan, started to turn on her after her run of dominance came to an end.
