Ronda Rousey Compares Her Working Relationship with Dana White Versus Vince McMahon

Over the course of her career, Ronda Rousey has worked for two of the most powerful executives in combat sports and sports entertainment.

For the entirety of her UFC career, Rousey worked closely with president Dana White, who launched a women’s division due to her exploits while competing in Strikeforce. Rousey and White became close friends over the course of her career and the UFC president remains ever present in her life to this day including a recent favor where he contacted Joan Jett so that “Rowdy” could use her song “Bad Reputation” in her new job with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Speaking of WWE, Rousey now works alongside chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, who is definitely a much different kind of boss than White. Rousey recently spoke about those relationships when comparing White and McMahon.

“Dana is one of my best friends and is somebody who I can call up any time and say let’s go for dinner, or drinks or even something completely random like asking him to fly to India, and he’d consider it,” Rousey told the Metro in the U.K. about her relationship with the UFC boss. “I don’t even have Vince’s number! It’s a very different relationship, I highly respect Vince and very much appreciate the opportunity he’s given me but it’s more like, if I can get a handshake from him and him telling me I’ve done a good job, that totally makes my day.

“With Dana, I’d expect him to grab me, hug me, pick me up and shake the hell out of me! If Dana just shook my hand and told me good job, I’d be like ‘what the hell Dana, that’s it?!’ But with Vince McMahon, I’d be like ‘oh my God, Vince McMahon shook my hand and told me I did a good job!’ It’s very different, I have a much more personal relationship with Dana, and a very professional relationship with Vince.”

While Rousey was recruited to WWE by McMahon’s daughter Stephanie and her real life husband Paul “Triple H” Levesque, it’s Vince who still calls the shots on virtually every aspect of the day to day business at the professional wrestling powerhouse.

In fact, McMahon hasn’t really said much publicly about Rousey since signing with the WWE but then again he’s been focused on plenty of other endeavors — including the re-launch of his professional football league, the XFL.

The real test for Rousey in McMahon’s eyes will undoubtedly come at WrestleMania 34 in April when the former UFC champion will make her professional wrestling debut.