Ronda Rousey stepped back into an MMA cage on Saturday night and finished the fight almost before it really started. The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion submitted Gina Carano with an armbar in just 17 seconds during Netflix’s first live MMA event at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
It was Rousey’s first MMA fight since 2016 and Carano’s first since 2009. Both fighters came into the event after long layoffs, and there was plenty of attention on how they would look after so many years away from competition. Once the fight began, Rousey rushed forward immediately, grabbed a takedown, and quickly transitioned into her trademark submission hold. The finish looked similar to many of the fast victories that defined Rousey’s rise in the UFC during the early 2010s. Carano didn’t land a punch before the fight was stopped.
Afterward, Rousey said she never planned to drag the fight out longer than necessary. “My husband and my kids are watching me,” Rousey said. “I don’t want to put them through anything more than I have to.” She also confirmed after the fight that this was officially her final MMA appearance. Rousey described the comeback as a chance to rewrite the ending of her career after losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes led to her exit from the UFC nearly a decade ago. At the post-fight press conference, she called the experience “closure” and said it felt like “a ghost was banished.”
Carano, 44, admitted she wished the fight had lasted longer. She said she felt ready despite being away from MMA for 17 years and wanted more of a chance to compete before the stoppage came. “I wanted to hit her,” Carano said with a laugh after the fight. She also said simply getting back into the cage again felt like an accomplishment after such a long absence from the sport.
Saturday’s card marked the first MMA event promoted by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions under its Netflix partnership. The show featured several former UFC fighters, including Francis Ngannou, Nate Diaz, and Mike Perry. Ngannou knocked out Philipe Lins in the first round, while Perry defeated Diaz in a bloody co-main event that drew heavy attention online afterward. The event itself had a much different presentation than a normal UFC card, with large entrances, celebrity appearances, and long video packages shown throughout the night.
The broadcast also created tension with the UFC during the event. As Ngannou made his walkout for his fight, UFC president Dana White announced Conor McGregor’s return bout through an Instagram livestream. Jake Paul later criticized the timing and called it an attempt to pull attention away from MVP’s debut show. Rousey said she saw it differently and took it as proof that the UFC viewed MVP as actual competition.
MVP executives spent much of the week discussing fighter pay and comparing their business model to the UFC’s. Reports from California athletic commission disclosures showed Rousey earned around $2.2 million for the fight despite competing for less than half a minute. Other fighters on the card also reportedly earned much higher paydays than standard UFC entry-level contracts.
Some fans celebrated seeing Rousey win one last time in familiar fashion, while others questioned whether the matchup felt competitive enough considering Carano’s long absence from MMA. Rousey left the cage quickly after the fight ended, hugging her family while the crowd inside the arena continued cheering as the broadcast wrapped up.
Illustration of Ronda Rousey securing a quick submission victory during her return to MMA at Netflix’s live event at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
