The pre-fight medicals that Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano will have to go through ahead of their May 16 matchup will be more extensive than the usual for an MMA fighter.
Per an update from ESPN, Andy Foster — California State Athletic Commission executive director — confirmed that Rousey and Carano will be mandated to go through medical and neurological testing that is more than what is normally required.
Perhaps the most noteworthy of the additional medical requirements is that the 39-year-old Rousey must go through concussion battery testing.
“We’re going to put her through neurological and concussion battery testing and make sure she’s OK,” Foster said. “We’re going to have our doctors take a look. The fighters are going to have to do a lot of medicals.”
In her years away from the Octagon, Rousey has come clean about her history and battles with concussions. The inaugural UFC women’s bantamweight champion and former Olympic bronze medal judoka admitted that she kept concussion diagnoses hidden from the UFC and fight officials, fearing a premature end to her career, as well as a target being placed on her in fights.
The 43-year-old Carano, however, will go through her own set of in-depth testing due to her inactivity and age. The CSAC requires fighters over the age of 40 must undergo the following: a magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain, electrocardiogram (EKG), cardiac testing, an exercise stress echocardiogram, neurocognitive testing, blood work, metabolic panel and ophthalmologic eye exam.
This is in accordance of recommendations from the Association of Ringside Physicians.
In spite of the extensive testing, Foster assures that if both women pass everything, the fight will go through.
“As long as these women pass their medicals and pass all their neurological batteries and do the things they need to do, there’s nothing wrong with this fight,” Foster said.
Rousey, a 2018 inductee of the UFC Hall of Fame, has not fought in MMA since her sub-minute loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. She has since had a couple of stints with the WWE, becoming a multiple-time women’s world champion.
Carano, meanwhile, has not fought since her August 2009 loss to Cris Cyborg in Strikeforce. After the end of her MMA run, Carano had a successful transition to Hollywood, earning roles in films such as Fast & the Furious 6 and Deadpool, as well as the first two seasons of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian.
Rousey vs. Carano will headline the first MMA card for MVP Promotions, taking place on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California, and airing on Netflix.
