After a niche of virtually a decade, UFC Hall of Famer and former WWE women’s champion Ronda Rousey is all set to make her MMA return. On Saturday, May. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome, Rousey is about to clash against Gina Carano. Promoted by Jake Paul’s MVP (Most Useful Promotions), the fight shall be available for fans to stream on Netflix.
Shortly after the match was made official and publicly shared on social media, several WWE talents and UFC fighters reached out to Rousey and celebrated her return. Former WWE star Sonya Deville, now often known as Daria Rae in TNA, commented several fire emojis hyping Rousey’s return. While UFC’s Julianna Peña also shared a number of emojis to hype up the comeback. UFC legend Frank Mir shared a number of folded hands emojis. Jake Paul also chimed in and claimed the upcoming bout to be a “dream match.”
WWE’s Cathey Kelly wrote, “wow!!!!!” followed by Charlotte Flair, who commented, “Let’s go, woman.” Rousey’s close friend Nattie (also often known as Natalya) wrote, “Let’s go!!!!!” Nonetheless, it was Rousey’s former rival, Liv Morgan, who dropped an NSFW yet humorous comment, “[b***h].”
Later, Rousey herself shared a post on social media talking about her much-awaited MMA return. “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! And we’re partnering with the fighter-first promotion. [Most Valuable Promotions] in addition to the baddest streamer on the planet [Netflix]! That is for all MMA fans past, present and future. More to return… far more ;)”
Dana White once turned down a Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight
Recently, Rousey had also opened up about how UFC President Dana White had once rejected her proposal of fighting Carano. “I reached out to Dana [White] and asked if he can be desirous about it. It didn’t exactly work out with the UFC, however it led us to here today,” she said. “It took an extended time to get us here. We fought for this. We fought to fight one another. There have been a variety of obstacles along the way in which.”