Netflix has another dream fight 10 years too late: Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano will go toe-to-toe in an MMA fight on Saturday, May 16. The match will stream live on Netflix from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles; the rest of the card will be announced at a later date.
The Rousey-Carano fight will take place inside a hexagon — not octagon like the UFC — cage. Rousey vs. Carano marks Netflix’s first-ever mixed martial arts event. It is also the first foray into the sport for Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), Jake Paul’s events company.
Rousey and Carano will face off as featherweights (145 pounds). The fight will be professionally sanctioned under the Unified Rules of MMA and take place over five, five-minute rounds (as necessary) using four-ounce gloves.
“Been waiting so long to announce this: Me and Gina Carano are gonna throw down in the biggest super fight in women’s combat sport history!” Rousey said in a statement. “And we’re partnering with the fighter-first promotion MVP as well as the biggest and baddest streamer on the planet Netflix. This is for all MMA fans past, present and future. More to come… much more.”
Rousey’s professional MMA record is 12-2 with nine wins by submission and three by knockout.
Readers will remember Carano from being fired from The Mandalorian after her conservative views ruffled feathers on social media. That was exactly five years and one week ago today. Carano’s acting credits also count Fast & Furious 6 and Deadpool.
Rousey is, of course, even more legendary than Carano in MMA. She transitioned from the UFC to a WWE career and has not fought mixed martial arts in a decade. Carano’s last MMA fight was in 2009.
“Ronda came to me and said there is only one person she would make a comeback for and it has been her dream to make this fight happen between us,” Carano said. “She thanked me for opening up doors for her in her career and was respectful in asking for this fight to happen. This is an honor. I believe I will walk out of this fight with the win and I anticipate it will not come easy, which I welcome. This is as much for Ronda and me as it is for the fans and mixed martial arts community. What a time to be alive.”
Carano has an official MMA record of 7-1, with one win by submission, three by knockout and the rest by decision. (Her earlier Muay Thai record was 12–1–1.)
“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 Nakisa Bidarian, co-founders of MVP, said. “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.”
MVP put on Jake Paul’s boxing matches for Netflix. The legitimacy of those fights are in the eyes of the many millions of Netflix subscribers to have live-streamed them.
“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,” Gabe Spitzer, Netflix vice president of sports, said. “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.”