Ronda Rousey scored a surprising 17-second victory over Gina Carano in each MMA legends’ return to the combat sport for Netflix.
The heavily-anticipated fight took place on Saturday, May 16, on the the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, under the banner of Jake Paul’s Most Invaluable Promotions. (Carano, 44, last fought in August 2009 when she lost by TKO to Cris Cyborg in the primary round. Rousey, 39, most recently competed in December 2016 when she lost via TKO to Amanda Nunes in 48 seconds.)
In Saturday’s fight, Rousey quickly trapped Carano in an arm-bar to attain the submission victory lower than 20 seconds after the fight officially began. The 2 MMA icons shared a tearful hug after their transient fight.
“Gina is the one who brought me into MMA and is the one one who could have brought me back into MMA,” Rousey told Ariel Helwani after the bout. “She’s my f***ing hero, man. She brought me back home when nobody else could … You modified my world and we modified the world.”
Asked whether there may be any likelihood she’s going to fight again, Rousey replied, “There’s no way I could have ended it higher than this. I would like to have some more babies and get cooking.”
Netflix’s MVP MMA 1 featured a stacked card where former Ultimate Fighter winner Nate Diaz lost to UFC veteran Mike Perry and ex-UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou defeated Philipe Lins in a five-round heavyweight fight.
Rousey announced her surprise return to MMA in February after spending the last decade competing on and off in skilled wrestling for WWE.
“Been waiting so long to announce this: Me and Gina Carano are gonna throw down in the most important super fight in women’s combat sport history!” she said in a press release. “And we’re partnering with the fighter-first promotion MVP in addition to the most important and baddest streamer on the planet Netflix. That is for all MMA fans past, present and future. More to return… rather more.”
On the time, Carano said that a long-awaited dream match against Rousey was the one offer intriguing enough to bring her out of a near 17-year retirement.
“Ronda got here to me and said there is simply one person she would make a comeback for and it has been her dream to make this fight occur between us,” Carano said in February. “She thanked me for opening up doors for her in her profession and was respectful in asking for this fight to occur. That is an honor. I imagine I’ll walk out of this fight with the win, and I anticipate it would not come easy, which I welcome. That is as much for Ronda and me because it is for the fans and mixed martial arts community. What a time to be alive.”
Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey face off. Sarah Stier/Getty Images for Netflix
Speaking exclusively to Us Weekly in April, Rousey opened up about how her fight training has modified since becoming a mom. (Rousey and her husband, Travis Browne, share two daughters: La’akea Makalapuaokalanipō, 4, and Liko’ula Pā’ūomahinakaipiha, 17 months.)
“It’s definitely more fun because we’ve made having fun the priority, as an alternative of just making all of it concerning the result, experience be damned,” she explained. “It’s leading to higher results than I ever could have had otherwise. On daily basis is fun. I feel like I actually have energy, and I’m not digging deep each second of the day. It’s really an amazing time to share with them.”
Rousey went on, “Pō loves being on the mat. She’s gonna be so sad once we take the cage out, since it’s like a huge playpen for them, and she or he loves to observe me train. … She’s normally such a hyper kid. Once I was a child, my mom said the one way she would have the ability to sit down down was if she put me in a box and sat on it. That’s how my daughter is.”
The UFC released the long-awaited fight card for the upcoming event on the White House on Saturday, March 8. The cardboard features six fights, including two title bouts. The event — dubbed “UFC Freedom Fights 250” — is an element of the 250th anniversary celebrations for the USA. Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje will compete […]
“I used to be cursed to boost a baby with as much energy as me, but man, once I’m training, she just sits there and watches, transfixed,” she joked. “She definitely desires to fight and has been asking me to. She saw some kids doing jujitsu and said, ‘I would like to do this.’ I used to be like, ‘You’ll.’ I don’t wish to push her in it too early.”
Rousey also touched on what could come next in her life and profession now that she has stepped back into the MMA world.
“Me and my husband wish to try for 2 more kids. I just need to make more little people. … Professionally, I feel like there’s nothing else I could really do this is price taking time away from my family ever again,” she told Us in April.