Rousey vs Carano: The epic return of women’s MMA, spectacle or legend?

If you are thrilled by fierce fights between women in an MMA cage, you should thank two women who haven’t stepped into a cage of this type in over a decade. Ronda Rousey was key for women to fight in the UFC. Gina Carano, for her part, was fundamental for women’s MMA to be seen for the first time. For these reasons, the return of Rousey and Carano from their long retirements to face each other on May 16 in Inglewood, California, will be an event of historical proportions. Although, this does not mean that it will be a great fight. Rousey is 39 years old and has not competed since 2016. Carano, who will turn 44 on the day of the fight, will enter the cage for the first time since 2009. In its day, Rousey vs. Carano would have been an elite clash in women’s MMA. But that’s not the case in 2026, not even close. What we have here is a spectacle, a sign of the times in combat sports. When Rousey was the biggest star in MMA, she reached that stardom, and the lucrative earnings that came with it, by being the most dominant fighter in the sport, man or woman. In 2011, the same year that CEO Dana White said women “would never” fight in the UFC, “Rowdy Ronda” made her professional debut and started a streak of 12 consecutive finishes, all but one in the first round. Eight opponents didn’t last a minute. While converting White into a believer, Rousey developed the appeal of a Mike Tyson in his prime, only in her case, fans tuned in not to see a quick knockout, but a quick armbar. However, Rousey might never have existed if it weren’t for Carano, the pioneer. Although she wasn’t the first woman to compete in MMA, Carano was part of the first women’s match in a major promotion, Strikeforce, in 2006. A year later, she fought on Showtime in the first televised women’s fight. And in 2009, Carano vs. Cris Cyborg was the main event of Strikeforce, headlining over four men who became champions in Strikeforce, Bellator, or the UFC.

The world of combat sports has changed drastically in the nearly two decades since that August 2009 fight, which turned out to be Carano’s retirement fight. Fighters no longer make a name for themselves solely with their fighting skills. Many of today’s top MMA stars propel their careers with energetic words, outrageous antics, and staged confrontations. Even those who retired long ago can earn a large sum of money by returning to entertain the masses in a wrestling spectacle that resembles a circus as much as a competition. In the nearly 10 years since Rousey last put on the gloves, we’ve seen MMA stars move to boxing for unprecedented paydays, fueled by Conor McGregor and a retired Floyd Mayweather Jr. who made a fortune sharing a dance in 2017. Social media visionary Jake Paul, whose Most Valuable Promotions will promote Rousey vs. Carano, created a cottage industry by defeating MMA fighters who were fish out of water in a boxing ring. In 2024, Paul got in the ring with Tyson, 58, who, despite once being the baddest man on the planet, simply looked bad. When each of the mentioned fights were announced, the first question was always “Why?”. Now we have Rousey vs. Carano, and my reaction is “Why not?”. Well, Rousey has given us a reason why not. Two years ago, while promoting the publication of her memoirs, “Our Fight”, she revealed a history of concussions, dating back to her time in judo, the sport in which she won an Olympic bronze medal in 2008. She had kept the head trauma secret from the UFC and regulators, she said, “because it would literally put a target on my head and I might not have been allowed to compete anymore.” The executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, Andy Foster, said that both Rousey and Carano will undergo additional medical tests before the fight. “We’re going to put her through neurological and concussion tests and make sure she’s okay,” Foster said. “We’re going to have our doctors take a look. The fighters will have to undergo many medical examinations, both of them.” Rousey appeared on “SportsCenter” on Tuesday and talked about needing more recovery time after training sessions now compared to her years in the UFC, but she did not mention her history of concussions.

If there’s a silver lining to this spectacle, Rousey and Carano will at least be competing in their own sport. There were recent reports that Rousey was trying to box two-division champion Katie Taylor, and nobody really needed to see that to know how it would have ended. This MMA match has a minimum of intrigue, if only to see what each woman has left after so many years out of the cage. Can Carano still throw punches well enough to present a threat that keeps the fight standing, or will Rousey quickly take her down and apply an armbar to Carano without breaking a sweat?

But competitiveness isn’t the point of this event. This is an opportunity for two female MMA pioneers to have a night in the spotlight they created. And presumably, a substantial purse will be involved. Female fighters do not receive a pension. Some prepare for a future outside the cage or ring, and others leave the sport penniless. Carano did create a future in Hollywood for herself. In the 17 years since she retired from MMA, she has appeared in more than a dozen films, including the sixth installment of the “Fast & Furious” franchise. Rousey has also had roles in films and television, but her main stage has been the WWE. She activated her retirement plan even before leaving MMA, making a special appearance at WrestleMania in 2014, while still being the UFC women’s bantamweight champion. Speaking of the leading promotion in MMA, Rousey said on “SportsCenter” that she evaluated White’s interest and “it didn’t exactly work out with the UFC.” That adds a layer of intrigue. White has predicted that the UFC event at the White House on June 14 will be “the most-watched UFC event in history.” Considering that Rousey, the biggest star in UFC history not named McGregor, has 16.8 million followers on Instagram and Carano has 1.8 million, could this spectacle eclipse the UFC date in the nation’s capital? To say that Rousey and Carano don’t do it for money would be a hollow premise, of course, because this is a prize fight, where everything is for money. But just looking at the final annotations in the two women’s fight resumes, it’s reasonable to conclude that money is not the only motivation. Carano retired in 2009 after being hit by Cyborg. Rousey absorbed a shocking knockout at the hands, and shin, of Holly Holm in front of 56,000 fans in a stadium in Australia in 2015, and after a year out of the public eye, she returned to face Amanda Nunes and was knocked out in 48 seconds. For both Rousey and Carano, this return represents an opportunity to change the final chapter of the story. ¿Or will this fight lead to more chapters to come?