When Rousey Called Chimaev a 'F***ing Cleft-Lip Lincoln'

When Ronda Rousey's Netflix comeback against Gina Carano was supposed to be the story of fight week, nobody had Khamzat Chimaev on the bingo card for creating actual chaos. But on May 15 — just six days before her big return — Rousey said something at the MVP MMA 1 press conference that would overshadow everything else leading into the event.

The whole thing started because Chimaev had posted a YouTube video defending the UFC against Rousey's public criticism of their fighter pay practices. His core argument was straightforward: the UFC built the foundation, and there wouldn't be a Ronda Rousey without it. Reasonable enough for a company man perspective, even if the timing was absolutely bizarre.

When Rousey got asked about it at that press conference, she didn't hold back:

"F—ing cleft-lip Lincoln is just hating because at his press conference for his fight, people are asking about me and my fight because no one gives a sh— about his ineffectual wrestle-f— fests."

The comment landed like a grenade.

The Setup: Why Chimaev Was Even in This Conversation

Understanding what made this moment so bizarre requires stepping back about a week. Chimaev had just lost the UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland by split decision at UFC 328 in Newark on May 9. He got outworked over five rounds by a guy who'd built his entire career on being underestimated and overlooked. That loss stung. Championship belts don't come back around easily in the UFC middleweight division, and Strickland had just proven he belonged in that conversation.

So what does a recently dethroned champion do six days later? Record YouTube videos defending the UFC against fighter pay criticism. It's genuinely difficult to overstate how strange this positioning is. Here's a guy who just lost his belt, his leverage, his primary negotiating tool — and he's arguing in favor of the organization that just watched him get humbled on their biggest stage. If there was ever a moment for a fighter to internalize frustrations about compensation and infrastructure, it would be immediately after losing a title. Instead, Chimaev went full company apologist.

Rousey's original beef with UFC fighter pay isn't some fringe complaint. She was one of the biggest stars the organization ever produced. She moved pay-per-view numbers. She built women's MMA inside a promotion that had to be convinced the audience for female fighters even existed. The idea that she should feel grateful to the UFC for what she personally generated for them is one of those arguments worth having, and it's not one the UFC wins if you're being honest about history.

But Chimaev argued against her anyway. He came down on the side of the company against the fighter with documented pay grievances. Is it factually wrong? Not necessarily — you genuinely cannot exist in modern combat sports without a promotion to sanction you, sign you, and put you on platforms. But it's a strange hill for a recently dethroned champion to choose as his dying place. You'd think the frustrations would run the other direction.

The Moment: How Rousey Threw Away a Winning Hand

Here's where it gets important to understand what actually happened at that press conference on May 15.

Rousey had the narrative completely in her favor. Fighter pay is real. Her contribution to the UFC is measurable in every metric that matters. Chimaev defending the organization that just watched him lose his title to Strickland a week earlier is a lot to process as a viewer. This entire argument was hers to win. She held all the credibility in the room.

Then she called him "cleft-lip Lincoln."

Chimaev has a cleft palate. This is visible, documented, not a secret hidden from public view. Rousey made it the centerpiece of her insult — not a throwaway line she stumbled into on accident, not something that came out of her mouth without thought. The second half of her shot, the "ineffectual wrestle-f— fests" line, is at least arguable on the merits. His recent run has featured long control sequences and uneven results. Strickland outworked him over five rounds in that recent fight. You can debate whether his style is "ineffectual," but the debate itself is legitimate.

But she led with his face. She led with something Chimaev was born with. She led with a birth defect.

That's the moment everything changed.

Mocking someone's cleft palate to score points in a fighter pay argument is objectively not a winning strategic choice. She held a hand that was already strong — legitimacy, narrative control, the platform advantage of speaking at a major press conference — and she threw it away to land a cheap shot at something Chimaev has no control over.

The Response: What Ditcheva Saw

Dakota Ditcheva, the PFL flyweight champion with a 15-0 record, apparently had been a Rousey fan before May 15. Past tense became relevant very quickly.

Ditcheva responded publicly on social media: "@RondaRousey's comment towards Chimaev regarding his cleft palate was absolutely disgraceful. As A Mother, You Should Know Better."

The "as a mother" framing is a bit circular, to be fair — you don't actually need to be a parent to understand that mocking a birth defect is wrong. That's a human baseline, not a parenting requirement. But the core call itself was correct. Chimaev's cleft palate is not a character flaw. It's not a career choice. It's not a proxy for his opinion on fighter pay, his wrestling style, or his life choices. It's his face. There are kids with the same condition who follow this sport. There are young fighters with cleft palates watching press conference footage. There are people watching who will never be asked to speak at a major press conference but will hear Rousey's comment and wonder if their face is also acceptable to mock on a national platform.

Chimaev himself hasn't publicly responded to any of this, at least not in the days immediately following. Whether he doesn't care, is timing some kind of response, or figured his May had already been eventful enough with the title loss, nobody can say for certain. But the silence didn't make the comment disappear.

The Actual Damage: Who Lost This Week

Rousey's original argument had genuine merit. One of the biggest stars in UFC history has opinions about fighter pay structure — that's a legitimate conversation. She had the credibility to start it, the platform to carry it, and the evidence to support it. Chimaev chose to defend the company against the fighter with the actual grievance, which is fine as a free speech exercise, but timing it for one week after losing his belt wasn't a great look.

Then Rousey opened her mouth at that press conference and the entire conversation stopped being about fighter pay. It stopped being about the UFC's compensation structure. It stopped being about Chimaev's weird timing in defending the company. The conversation became about whether mocking a cleft palate is acceptable at a major press conference in 2026. Ditcheva answered that question publicly. So did everyone else watching. The answer is no.

Chimaev goes into his next fight — whenever that is — without his title and with someone calling him "cleft-lip Lincoln" on camera that will never go away. Rousey goes into her May 17 Netflix comeback against Gina Carano as the person who said it.

The fight itself was always going to draw attention. Two fighters who helped shape women's MMA, sharing a mat for the first time in years, on Netflix of all places. Combat sports fans were going to watch because it's actually interesting from a historical perspective. But they're also going to watch because press conference footage doesn't expire. Statements like "cleft-lip Lincoln" exist forever now.

If Rousey wins the fight on May 17, she gets to be vindicated on some level — the comeback works, the narrative shifts back to her physical dominance. If she loses, that clip exists forever as the story of how she lost her cool before losing her fight.

Chimaev defended the UFC and got his face mocked for it. Rousey held a winning argument and chose personal cruelty instead. And press conferences from May 2026 are still getting watched by people trying to understand what exactly went wrong that week.

This post was generated by AI. Sources are linked below. Follow @bjj-problems on YouTube for the weekly video digest.

Sources

• Ronda Rousey Sparks MMA Firestorm After Brutal 'Cleft-Lip Lincoln' Jab at Khamzat Chimaev
• Dakota Ditcheva Shames Ronda Rousey Over Chimaev Cleft Palate Insult
• Rousey Fires Back at Khamzat Chimaev with Savage Insults
• Dakota Ditcheva Drops Ronda Rousey Fandom Over Chimaev Cleft Palate Insult