By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ronda Rousey is returning to MMA, but it won’t be for UFC. Rousey will face Gina Carano in a Netflix superfight on May 16 in Los Angeles, California, at the Intuit Dome. Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian’s MVP is promoting the fight.
“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 stated in the press release. “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.”
The press release adds that the event, which will feature additional fights, will be professionally sanctioned under the Unified Rules of MMA and contested over five, 5-minute rounds using 4oz gloves, inside a hexagon cage. Read the official press release at Mostvaluablepromotions.com.
Powell’s POV: This MMA fight is happening long after both fighters were in their primes. That said, it’s good for health reasons that they are facing one another rather than trying to fight current MMA stars.
The 39-year-old Rousey was 12-0 before she lost her last two UFC fights. She last fought at UFC 207 on December 30, 2016. Carano, 43, was 7-0 before she dropped her final fight to Cris Cyborg on an August 15, 2009, Strikeforce event. Rousey’s last WWE match was on August 5, 2023. She went on to team with Marina Shafir in independent matches, and they also teamed in a Ring of Honor tag team match on November 17, 2023.
Netflix claimed a whopping 125 million viewership total for the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul boxing match on November 15, 2024. The streamer listed a global audience of 36.6 million for Terence Crawford vs. Canelo Alvarez in September 2025, and a 33 million global audience for Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul in December 2025.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time dating back to 1997. He hosts a weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)
I can’t wait to hear how much they’re being paid for this.
Also, Carano looks like a giant compared to Rousey in the little 15 second video they released.