{"id":674061,"date":"2026-05-16T19:49:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T19:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/674061\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T19:49:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T19:49:13","slug":"ronda-rousey-and-gina-carano-face-off-in-a-major-test-mma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/674061\/","title":{"rendered":"Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano face off in a major test MMA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ronda Rousey<\/a> returns to the ring on Saturday to face Gina Carano at the Intuit Dome<\/a> in a card that its promoters hope will prove that mixed martial arts (MMA) can generate the same excitement as boxing without the UFC.<\/p>\n

The five-round, 145-pound bout airing on Netflix (6 p.m. PDT) will be the first MMA event promoted by Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), the company co-founded by Jake Paul<\/a> and Nakisa Bridarian. According to Bridarian, the card is the most expensive in MVP history, with each fighter receiving at least $40,000 \u2014 a sum greater than what UFC rookies receive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say this is the most expensive MMA card ever put together,\u201d Bridarian said Wednesday. \u201cWe can only do this because we have a partner [Netflix] that allows us to pull it off, and they deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rousey (12-2), a Riverside native, is returning to competition after a nine-year hiatus, during which she starred in movies, wrestled in the WWE and became a mother of two. Her informal retirement came after consecutive losses to Holly Holm<\/a> in 2015 and Amanda Nunes<\/a> in 2016. For the Californian, this fight is the career finale she never had.<\/p>\n

\"Gina <\/p>\n

Gina Carano participates in an open workout Wednesday at Venice Beach ahead of her Netflix MMA bout with Ronda Rousey at Intuit Dome.<\/p>\n

(Sarah Stier \/ Getty Images for Netflix)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s incredible, because I feel like, no matter what happens, I\u2019m completely at peace with it,\u201d Rousey said. \u201cBefore, winning was the most important thing in the world. Now, what matters most to me are my kids and my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rousey hopes the event will draw more than nine million viewers, a threshold that would help convince Netflix and MVP to invest in MMA on a sustained basis. The MMA ratings record belongs to the fight between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez at UFC on Fox 1 on Nov. 12, 2011, which peaked at 8.8 million viewers and averaged 5.7 million during its broadcast.<\/p>\n

Netflix has already demonstrated an appetite for combat sports, posting impressive numbers: it drew a global audience of 33 million for Paul versus Anthony Joshua, 41.4 million for the Canelo \u00c1lvarez-Terence Crawford<\/a> bout and 108 million for the Paul-Mike Tyson fight<\/a>. However, promoters are aware that MMA operates in a different league and that on Saturday they will have the top ambassador of women\u2019s MMA in action.<\/p>\n

\"Ronda <\/p>\n

Ronda Rousey lunges forward and punches during an open workout at Venice Beach on Wednesday ahead of Netflix MMA bout against Gina Carano at Intuit Dome.<\/p>\n

(Sarah Stier \/ Getty Images for Netflix)<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to convince MVP and Netflix that there\u2019s something here worth investing in and that they should keep backing MMA,\u201d Rousey said.<\/p>\n

Carano (7-1), 44, also has a historic track record, having been part of the first women\u2019s MMA fight on live television in 2007 and headlining the first Showtime card featuring two women as main event fighters, facing Cris Cyborg in 2009. Although Carano is unlikely to pose a competitive challenge for Rousey, both women are approaching the event more as pioneers than as rivals.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Rousey trained at Venice Beach in front of dozens of fans, the same beach where she began her career. She was accompanied by Pauline Mac\u00edas, a Brazilian judoka, MMA fighter and close friend since the age of 11.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the ending she deserves,\u201d Rousey said of her special training session ahead of what could potentially be her final fight as a fighter.<\/p>\n

Beyond her fight, Rousey has her sights set on becoming a promoter to improve conditions for fighters outside the UFC.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about giving the power back to the fighters and reminding people that we are the essence of this sport, not a brand or a belt,\u201d said the 39-year-old fighter.<\/p>\n

The match has been criticized for taking place more than 10 years late, well past the fighters\u2019 prime. Carano disagreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this fight is coming at just the right time,\u201d Carano said. \u201cTwo years ago, you would have seen a different version of me. Right now, I\u2019m in such a strong place that, well, I\u2019ve had to go through all of this to get here.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Espa\u00f1ol<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ronda Rousey returns to the ring on Saturday to face Gina Carano at the Intuit Dome in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":674062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[247909,49,48,247912,247908,247910,247911,641,146728,5277,247907,638,64389,1316,247915,247913,247914,1867,82],"class_list":["post-674061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-ano","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cartelera","tag-combate","tag-deporte","tag-espectador","tag-fighting","tag-gina-carano","tag-jake-paul","tag-millon","tag-mma","tag-mvp","tag-netflix","tag-peleador","tag-peleadora","tag-prueba","tag-ronda-rousey","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}