Kayla Harrison Just Called Ronda Rousey a 'Blatant F**king Liar' and I Don't Think Rousey Has a Good Response

I'm going to be honest, I don't follow women's MMA as closely as I should. But bro, this Rousey situation right now is absolutely wild.

Kayla Harrison, the current UFC bantamweight champion, just went on the Death Row MMA podcast with Jorge Masvidal and called Ronda Rousey a "blatant f**king liar." Not behind closed doors. Not in a vague subtweet. On a podcast, with details, with receipts, and with the energy of someone who has been holding this in for a long time. She's saying Rousey is straight up fabricating stories about her judo career to promote the comeback fight against Gina Carano on Netflix.

And the best part? Harrison is a two time Olympic gold medalist in judo. Rousey has a bronze. So when Harrison says the story is fake, she's not guessing. She was literally there.

The Netflix card is six weeks away and this beef is already out of control. I love it.

The Judo Story That Started All of This

Okay so here's what happened. In judo, there's a training drill called Ippon Dori. It's basically king of the hill for grapplers. You stand in the middle, you throw someone, whoever wins stays. No time limit. Could be 30 seconds, could be 30 minutes.

Rousey has been telling this story online about how back in her judo days, she'd be out in the middle dominating all the women for an hour and then eventually a 90-kilo dude would take pity on her and come out to throw her because nobody else could handle her. Classic Rousey. Making herself sound like the baddest person in the room by a mile.

Harrison heard this and basically said nah.

"Dude, that is literally a blatant f**king lie. Now you're just making sh*t up. That never happened."

No hesitation. No "well, I don't quite remember it that way." Just that it never happened. And this is coming from someone who won Olympic gold in judo twice, in 2012 and 2016. Rousey won bronze in 2008. So when the woman with two golds says the bronze medalist's story is made up, I mean, who are you going to believe?

"How Old Is Gina? She Hasn't Fought in 17 Years. Shut Up."

And Harrison didn't stop at the judo thing. She went after the whole promotional pitch.

Rousey has been going around calling the MVP Netflix card "the best card in the history of fighting" and the Carano matchup "the best female fight of all time." And Harrison was just like... are you serious?

"She said this is the best female fight of all time. How old is Gina? She hasn't fought in 17 years. Like, shut up."

I'm not hating, but she's got a point. Gina Carano is 43, turning 44 in a few weeks. She last fought in 2009. The last time Carano was in a cage, Barack Obama had been president for six months. Seventeen years, dude. And Rousey is calling this the greatest female fight ever while Harrison, Shevchenko, Zhang Weili, and Nunes are all out here actually competing right now? That's a wild claim to make with a straight face.

And look, I get it. Rousey is selling a fight. That's the job. Hype is part of the game and she's always been great at it. But there's a line between selling the fight and rewriting history, and Harrison is saying Rousey jumped over that line a while ago.

Rousey's Promotional Tour Has Been an Absolute Circus

Can we just step back and appreciate how much chaos Rousey has generated in like three weeks of promoting this fight? Because the Harrison thing isn't even an isolated incident. This woman has been collecting beef like infinity stones.

A few weeks ago, she called the UFC "one of the worst places to go" for fighters at the Netflix press conference. We covered that on CageLore and the fighter pay points were valid. Then she took a shot at Valentina Shevchenko's OnlyFans, and Shevchenko fired back with "Looks like Ronda slept too long after her last fight in 2016." She showed up at AEW Revolution and got booed by the whole crowd. Sean O'Malley asked "Who would you be without UFC?" And now the current bantamweight champion is calling her a liar on a podcast.

I mean bro, the fight is still SIX WEEKS away. She hasn't even stepped in the cage yet and she's already beefing with two current UFC champions, one of the UFC's biggest male stars, and an entire wrestling promotion's fanbase. This is genuinely incredible promotional chaos. I don't know if it's intentional or if Rousey just can't help herself, but either way its brilliant.

Okay But Real Talk

I respect what Ronda Rousey did for MMA. Everybody should. First female UFC champion. Brought women's fighting into the mainstream. Changed the entire sport. None of that goes away because of what's happening right now.

But here's the thing. When the current champion who has two Olympic golds in the exact same sport calls your training story a flat out lie with zero hesitation, you can't just hide behind your legacy. Harrison isn't some random person on Twitter. She's the best female judoka America has ever produced and she's saying this never happened. That's not a beef over opinions. That's someone with receipts saying the story is made up.

And the "best female fight of all time" stuff? You're trippin. Rousey hasn't fought since Nunes flatlined her in 48 seconds back in 2016. That's over nine years ago. Carano hasn't fought since 2009. Both women are in their forties. The fight might be huge on Netflix. It might do monster numbers. But greatest female fight of all time? While Harrison, Shevchenko, Zhang Weili, and Nunes are all active? Nah.

The Netflix card on May 16 still looks like a fun event. Rousey vs Carano. Ngannou vs Lins. Diaz vs Perry. Parnasse vs Cross. Real fights with real stories. The card doesn't need fabricated judo tales to sell. It needs Rousey to show up, fight Carano, and let the moment do the talking.

But right now, six weeks out, the moment is getting drowned out by drama that Rousey keeps creating. And when the current champion is the one fact checking you in public, the drama stops being promotional and starts being a problem.

I genuinely have no idea what Rousey is going to say next but I'm fully locked in for whatever it is.

Thanks for riding with CageLore. Stay locked in!

Frequently Asked Questions About the Harrison vs Rousey Feud

What did Kayla Harrison say about Ronda Rousey?

On the Death Row MMA podcast with Jorge Masvidal, Harrison called a judo training story Rousey has been telling online a "blatant f**king lie." She also told Rousey to "shut up" about calling her Carano fight "the best female fight of all time," pointing out that Carano is 43 and hasn't fought in 17 years.

What judo story is Harrison disputing?

Rousey claimed that during Ippon Dori (a king of the hill judo training drill), she would dominate all the women for an hour until a 90-kilo man had to come challenge her. Harrison, a two time Olympic gold medalist in judo who trained in the same circles, says this story never happened.

What are Harrison's credentials in judo?

Kayla Harrison won Olympic gold in judo in 2012 and 2016, making her a two-time Olympic champion. She is currently the UFC bantamweight champion. Rousey won Olympic bronze in 2008. Harrison's judo credentials objectively surpass Rousey's.

When is Rousey fighting Carano?

The fight is scheduled for May 16, 2026 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Netflix. It headlines the first MVP MMA card, which also features Francis Ngannou vs Philipe Lins and Nate Diaz vs Mike Perry.

When was Rousey's last fight?

Rousey last fought on December 30, 2016 at UFC 207, where Amanda Nunes knocked her out in 48 seconds. That's over nine years between her last fight and her scheduled comeback against Carano.

When was Carano's last fight?

Gina Carano last competed on August 15, 2009, losing to Cris Cyborg at Strikeforce. She hasn't fought professionally in nearly 17 years.