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‘This is the biggest fight in the sport right now, and it needed to happen now. This is fate between us.’
Published Mar 11, 2026 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 3 minute read
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Ronda Rousey (L) and Gina Carano (R) face off in front of Jake Paul (C) during the Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and Netflix 5X5 Professional MMA bound pre-fight press conference outside the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on March 10, 2026. Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON /AFP via Getty ImagesArticle content
It’s a bout that marks the comeback of two pioneers of women’s mixed martial arts.
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And according to Ronda Rousey, her May 16 fight with Gina Carano will be the “biggest” MMA bout going on today.
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“This is the biggest fight in MMA right now,” Rousey said during a Tuesday press conference to hype up the event being held at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., and airing on Netflix.
“There are no two people in this sport with more international name recognition than me and Gina — except Conor (McGregor), but no one is going to sanction that. This isn’t a charity card. This isn’t a throwback, nostalgia card,” Rousey said.
“This is the biggest fight in the sport right now, and it needed to happen now. This is fate between us. We have been on a collision course ever since I sat on a couch watching her on TV, just in complete awe at what this woman was doing,” she added.
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“We only get to live once, and this makes me feel so alive,” said Carano.
Pioneers of women’s MMA
It’s been a decade since Rousey, 39, last fought in an MMA bout in the UFC. Carano, 43, is 17 years removed from the combat sport.
In the 2000s, Carano was the sport’s biggest early television star. Rousey — who said she became aware of MMA by watching Carano — became such a dominant, undefeated force in the sport that it persuaded the UFC to create women’s divisions in the 2010s.
They both said they haven’t fully given up on MMA and that the upcoming fight was hard to pass up.
“It’s pretty incredible and surreal to be here today. It’s healing. It’s exciting. It’s everything I could have hoped for. I didn’t know I needed this so bad,” said Carano.
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The careers of Rousey and Carano have gone on different paths since leaving MMA long ago.
Rousey hung up her gloves after back-to-back losses to Holy Holm and Amanda Nunes in the UFC. She said she retired due to neurological issues “that I didn’t really have any clarity about, and it just hurt to be around (the sport).”
Carano had a 7-1 record in MMA, with her only loss coming at the hands of Cris Cyborg in August 2009. She later found success in acting and was infamously fired five years ago from The Mandalorian for her outspoken conservative views on social media.
Ronda Rousey, Jake Paul, and Gina Carano pose onstage during Netflix’s Ronda Rousey x Gina Carano Los Angeles MMA Press Conference at Intuit Dome on March 10, 2026 in Inglewood, California. Photo by Melina Pizano /Getty Images for Netflix‘Rewrite our own endings together’
Carano said she never officially retired and was convinced to return after having lengthy chats with Rousey.
Rousey had no interest in MMA for several years as she dabbled in professional wrestling and started a family with husband Travis Browne, but got the itch after helping her coach in judo training.
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“We both need to rewrite our own endings together,” Rousey said. “So I reached out to her, and it’s been such a journey to get here. So many obstacles. So many people tried to get between us. We went from barely knowing each other to being like, ‘You know what? We’re going to fight each other.’”
Both fighters will undergo extra concussion tests. Rousey acknowledged she was forced to retire from her UFC career because of repeated concussions, BBC reported.
Why Carano wants to fight Rousey
Rousey and Carano faced off after the news conference: Rousey gave her signature menacing glare while Carano smiled back.
“Obviously the motivation to fight is Ronda asked me. She’s quite the charmer,” said Carano.
“Other jobs came up like this but nothing is as important as this. To share the moment with her, we get to live once and this makes me feel so alive and super grateful for the opportunity.”
The Netflix event is being promoted by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. The card will also feature a bout pitting ex-UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou against Philipe Lins.
— With files from The Associated Press and ESPN
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