Shocker of all shockers, Ronda Rousey stumbled her way back into the spotlight, and used her moment to talk about… the work another woman does with her body. That’s not actually all that surprising, but what did catch people off guard was the way she took a shot at UFC’s pay rates first. What’s so remarkable about that? Well, Rousey’s been out of the UFC ring for… a mighty minute.
Let’s meet the players involved, shall we? Ronda Rousey’s a former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion who used to be the biggest star in the MMA sky. She hasn’t fought since December 2016 when she lost to Amanda Nunes in 48 seconds, pivoted to WWE in 2018, and is intending to return to the UFC fighting space on May 16th in a match against Gina Carano (a former MMA fighter turned actress who you might remember from The Mandalorian. The fight with Rousey is her grand return to combat sports too). Valentina Shevchenko is the current UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion. She’s a Kyrgyzstan-born fighter known as “The Bullet,” is one of the most decorated fighters in UFC history, and is still very much actively competing.
Ok, so here’s what happened. At a press conference that was intended to specifically promote the Rousey vs. Carano fight, Rousey had herself a nice rant about how UFC underpays their fighters— reminder: she hasn’t fought for UFC in over a decade. Anyhow, Rousey claimed that top champions like Shevchenko (yes, mentioned her by name) are being forced to sell explicit images on OnlyFans in order to seek out an existence. If you think that Shevchenko had something to say about that, you’d be correct.
Valentina Shevchenko took to Twitter on March 10, 2026 with quite the clapback. She said that while yes, some fighters are on OnlyFans— herself included— many of those fighters are using the platform as a modern way to connect more directly with their fans, not just as a way to make oodles of money (although there’s nothing wrong with getting paid). She threw no small amount of shade at Rousey making these claims after being away from MMA for so long, saying “Looks like Ronda slept too long after her last fight in 2016.” Zing. Shevchenko did indeed join OnlyFans in late 2024, but her content is strictly behind-the-scenes training, lifestyle content, and travel. She doesn’t create or share adult content on the platform, but if she did, that would be her choice. OnlyFans is incredibly strict about consent, and ensuring that everyone on the adults-only platform is only sharing content they want to create and share with subscribers who want to see it.
See also: we know by now that Shevchenko is hardly alone. Professional athletes across a broad range of sports utilize OnlyFans for reasons that are entirely their own, but there are two biggies that tend to pop up:
Athlete OnlyFans creators are doing a phenomenal job of using the platform as a connection tool, and revenue stream. Fans who want access to more will happily pay for it, and athlete creators who want to share more adult content have a space in which they can do so behind a paywall. There is nothing wrong with sharing explicit content on OnlyFans, but the platform is so much more than spicy nudes. There are artists sharing exclusive content on OnlyFans, chefs sharing cooking tutorials, and musicians who release exclusive tracks on OnlyFans before they share anywhere else!
Let’s give Shevchenko her flowers, shall we? She’s a champion who didn’t let a baseless claim slide. She responded with facts, a clapback, and a hair toss. She’s unashamed of showing up in a way that feels authentic to her on a platform outside the UFC’s polished media bubble that allows her to connect with her fans in a way that benefits everyone involved. Shevchenko’s use of OnlyFans is totally normal, cool, and— let’s be honest— just frigging smart. The real problem is the stigma, not the platform. Rousey may have intended to throw shade, but all she did was remind everyone that Shevchenko’s still thriving in the cage, and she isn’t.
