Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano share a cage on Saturday night for a fight that was supposed to happen in 2009 and has been the subject of speculation, negotiation, and fan longing ever since.
Carano was the face of women’s MMA during the EliteXC and Strikeforce era, the first woman a major American television network was willing to put on a fight night. Rousey was emerging as a judo-based finishing machine. The matchup everyone wanted never materialized because Cris Cyborg ended Carano’s career with a first-round stoppage in August 2009.
Seventeen years later, both women arrive at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood carrying very different kinds of rust and very different stories.
Rousey, 12-2, closed her UFC career on back-to-back knockout losses that ended her aura. Holly Holm’s head kick at UFC 193 in November 2015 was the first crack. Amanda Nunes finished the job in 48 seconds at UFC 207 in December 2016. She has not competed in MMA since, spending the intervening years in WWE, becoming a Hall of Famer, marrying Travis Browne, and having two children. She turns 40 in February.
Carano, 7-1, is the larger unknown. She last fought professionally in August 2009 and has spent the intervening period in Hollywood, appearing in Haywire and Fast and Furious 6 before returning to public life in different circumstances. She is 44 years old.
Neither woman has competed at the 145-pound women’s featherweight limit. Neither has thrown a competitive punch in a very long time. The fight is scheduled for five rounds.
Rousey vs. Carano headlines the first live MMA event in Netflix history, co-promoted with Most Valuable Promotions. Main card begins at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 16.
Main Card (9 p.m. ET, Netflix)
- Women’s featherweight: Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano
- Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins
- Welterweight: Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry
- Featherweight: Salahdine Parnasse vs. Kenny Cross
- Heavyweight: Junior dos Santos vs. Robelis Despaigne
- Flyweight: Muhammad Mokaev vs. Adriano Moraes
Preliminary Card (6 p.m. ET, Netflix)
- Welterweight: Jason Jackson vs. Jeff Creighton
- Welterweight: Namo Fazil vs. Jake Babian
- Featherweight: David Mgoyan vs. Albert Morales
- 130-pound catchweight: Aline Pereira vs. Jade Masson-Wong
- 165-pound catchweight: Chris Avila vs. Brandon Jenkins