Ronda Rousey returns windfall for UFC

This post has been corrected. See below for details.

Ronda Rousey’s dramatic first victory by a woman in the Ultimate Fighting Championship octagon was a financial bonanza for the fight organization.

In addition to a sellout crowd of 15,525 at Honda Center that generated a live gate in excess of $1.4 million, pay-per-view figures were assessed as 40% better than the UFC’s Super Bowl weekend card that featured Jose Aldo retaining his featherweight belt against Frankie Edgar.

While UFC officials don’t publicly share their pay-per-view totals, an official with knowledge of the figures said with replay sales, Rousey’s first-round armbar submission of Liz Carmouche could near 500,000 buys.

The fight cost $44.99 on standard-definition, $54.99 on HD.

“PPV was huge; she’s a legit star,� UFC Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta texted The Times on Monday night of Rousey, the 26-year-old Venice fighter and 2008 judo bronze medalist for the U.S. Olympic team who is now 7-0 with seven first-round armbars.

That number is far and away better than the prior pay-per-view record for a female fight which pitted the daughters of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier and generated 125,000 buys.

UFC President Dana White said after the bout that Rousey will continue as a main-event draw in the UFC after she avoided a near rear naked chokehold by Carmouche and rallied to end the fight in her definitive style.

“I wasn’t nervous,� Rousey said of Carmouche’s near-decisive hold. “She had it across my face. I had dislocated my jaw as a kid, so my mouthpiece came out and her arm went into my teeth. I was not intending to bite you at all, dude,� she said to Carmouche.

“I was very aware of the severity of the situation. I thought it was a great fight that lived up to all the hype. And I think by the sound of the crowd, they were very happy with the fight.�

White heaped heavy praise on Rousey for hyping the bout and opening up about her personal life, which included her struggles to speak as a young child, her father’s suicide and her decision to drop out of Santa Monica High School.

“I’m going to fall off the grid now for awhile, and if I see anyone, I’m not going to talk about me,� Rousey said after the bout.

[UPDATED at 8:28 a.m.: An earlier version of this post said live-gate sales at the Honda Center for Saturday’s UFC 157 card featuring Ronda Rousey were $4.5 million. The sales were $1.4 million.]

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