Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey needed only 17 seconds to secure a vintage armbar stoppage against Gina Carano Saturday night in Inglewood, CA, to close out MVP MMA’s inaugural event.
The viral finish came with a staggering award for Rousey, even though Carano lost. Jake Paul, the co-founder of MVP alongside Nakisa Bidarian, ensured Rousey and Carano were compensated for their near-three-month-long buildup, despite how fast the scheduled five-round, non-title fight lasted.
According to MMAJunkie, disclosed purses were revealed for the entire card. This included figures for Rousey, Carano, Nate Diaz, and Francis Ngannou, among others.
Ronda Rousey, Gina Carano Payouts Revealed
Rousey was reportedly the highest-paid fighter on the card, earning $2.2 million for her return to the cage. Carano, meanwhile, earned $1.05 million.
Rousey re-retired from MMA following the fight, but was grateful for the experience, she said.
“You changed my world and we changed the (MMA) world,” Rousey said after the fight. “I will never be able to pay you back enough. So glad we finally got to share this moment.”
Carano, meanwhile, said she felt differently.
“I feel great,” Carano said. “I wanted to fight, and I didn’t get that. But she trained. She had her gameplan. I have so much love and respect for her, and this was a victory in my life. She changed it. I woke up at 3 a.m. every morning thinking about her. I took 100 pounds off my body, which is going to give me a longer life. I fell back in love with mixed martial arts. There are so many things to think about here. It’s just (that) the fight didn’t go my way.”
Elsewhere, UFC veteran Nate Diaz fell short of expectations against Mike Perry with a doctor’s stoppage loss following a one-sided, two-round beating from “Platinum.”
Diaz took home $500,000, with Perry netting $400,000 in his return to MMA after a dominant BKFC stint.
Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou made his presence felt in his return to MMA, earning $1.5 million with a first-round KO win over Philipe Lins (who earned $100,000).
Can MVP Compete With UFC?
Overall, Netflix subscribers were treated to an overwhelming display of entertaining finishes, celebrity sightings, and everything in between during a night where MVP was doing its best to try to prove that it was a volatile competitor to the UFC.
Whether it becomes that, though, remains to be seen. But, its introduction currently has the MMA community talking about what may come next for the promotion.
Only time will tell.
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