Two of the most iconic fighters in women’s mixed martial arts history are stepping back into the ring against one another in Southern California.
Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano will end their respective retirements for a women’s featherweight fight on May 16 at Intuit Dome under Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian’s Most Valuable Promotions banner.
The fight represents Netflix’s first live MMA broadcast and MVP’s inaugural MMA event.
Netflix announced the bout as “a legacy showdown” in a social media post on Tuesday morning. Rousey, who for months has been posting videos of herself training, confirmed the fight with Carano in a text with the Southern California News Group.
“This fight has been 9 months in the making since I was 9 months pregnant,” Rousey said in a text, “this last year has been the most healing and incredible journey and I’m thrilled to be able to invite the world to come along.”
Rousey, 39, and her husband, former UFC heavyweight Travis Browne, have two daughters – a 4-year-old and the younger of whom was born in January 2025.
In a press release, MVP said “the matchup unites Rousey, the woman who shattered the glass ceiling for female fighters and became the face of an entire, sport male or female, with Carano, the sport’s first true crossover star in a highly anticipated fight that has been years in the making.”
Rousey helped elevate the UFC to new heights after winning the bantamweight title against Liz Carmouche in the first women’s fight in UFC history at UFC 157 at Honda Center in 2013. That came five years after Rousey became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo with a bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
The Riverside native and Santa Monica High graduate went on to win five consecutive fights defending her title and becoming a global superstar along the way.
Rousey (12-2) and Carano (7-1), who have both found successful post-MMA careers acting in television and movies, haven’t fought in a combined 27 years. Rousey did have a successful professional wrestling run with the WWE from 2017-23.
Rousey hasn’t fought since she suffered back-to-back knockout losses to Holly Holm in 2015 and Amanda Nunes in 2016. In interviews, she has said concussions, suffered over years of training judo and MMA as well as in WWE, contributed to her retirement.
Carano, 43, hasn’t fought since 2009 when she lost to Cris Cyborg by knockout in a Strikeforce main event in San Jose that aired on Showtime.
“MVP has always been driven by disruption and delivering the biggest moments in combat sports on a global scale, and today we are officially bringing that energy to MMA for the first time,” Paul and Bidarian said in the press release.
“Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano are the two most formative figures in the history of women’s MMA; they are the icons who shattered the glass ceiling and helped build the foundation this sport stands on. MVP’s conviction in women’s boxing was driven by the success achieved by Ronda Rousey, who was the biggest star of the entire sport of MMA during her career. Following the unprecedented success of our boxing partnership, we are proving that MVP and Netflix can create blockbuster live events in multiple sports that engage fans across generations. This is what we do.”
The fight will be at 145 pounds, which is a 10-pound move up for Rousey but where Carano typically fought in her eight-fight career.
Gabe Spitzer, Netflix VP of Sports, said: “After the record-breaking success in boxing, we wanted our first MMA event to be truly legendary. We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with MVP and bring together Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano to deliver the kind of high-stakes, icon-driven competition that our members crave. These are more than just athletes – they are generational stars – and having them headline our MMA debut at the Intuit Dome is a defining moment for us.”
Tickets for Rousey vs. Carano will go on sale at 10 a.m. on March 5 on Ticketmaster.com. Fans can sign up for presale at RouseyCarano.com.
