F4W/WON

Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano is set to take place this weekend from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. During the last press conference for the first ever MVP MMA event, Rousey admitted that she would be hesitant when it came to breaking the arm of her opponent Carano during the fight, despite the mutual respect the two appear to have for each other.

“I definitely wouldn’t have any hesitation in breaking it” Rousey replied when asked if she would be hesitant to break her opponent’s arm during the fight. “But I also wouldn’t hesitate in putting it back in place, it’s kind of a wax on wax off kind of situation. You know, you don’t really break it, you just kind of dislocate it” Rousey added.

“It’s not that bad, I’ve had my elbow go out several times because I didn’t tap and I thought I was really cool when I was young and I wouldn’t pay for it when I was older. But yeah, I wouldn’t hesitate and I would make sure to put it back” Rousey finished.

Ronda Rousey Armbar

Rousey averaged 4.8 submission attempts per 15 minutes in the UFC, the highest figure in women’s bantamweight history (via UFCStats). Her average fight time across 12 pro bouts is 3 minutes and 5 seconds. Eleven of her 12 wins are finishes, most by armbar. It’s very likely that ‘Rowdy’ will try to use her standard template of close the distance, tie up in the clinch, throw with a hip toss, take side control and isolate the arm in this fight.

Ronda Rousey will be facing Gina Carano this weekend in the main event of MVP’s first ever MMA card on Netflix. While the dream fight between arguably the two biggest names in Women’s MMA history is coming a few years too late, it’s still going to be a massive moment in the sport and both women will be reportedly be getting paid handsomely for their work.

Speaking to talkSPORT in the UK, Rousey noted that she and Carano are going to break the record for Women’s pay in an MMA fight: “The biggest money fight is the biggest fight period. And we [Kayla Harrison] honestly have very different definitions of greatness. Mine is making history, making a cultural impact and influencing the future of the sport. I’ve already won a record eight consecutive title fights, there’s nothing left for me to do in UFC. So now me and Gina are smashing the record for the most women have been paid in combat sports.”

The actual number that both women are being paid for the fight has not been confirmed publicly, but it was revealed that the minimum any fighter on the card would be getting is $40,000, even in a loss. It’s worth noting that Rousey’s last reported purse in the UFC was $3m, so there’s a good chance this number will eclipse that should her claim be legitimate.

Rousey vs Carano Card

Here is how the fight card stacks up as of writing:

Rousey vs Carano MVP MMA 1 MAIN CARD (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Netflix)

• Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano
• Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry
• Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins
• Salahdine Parnasse vs. Kenneth Cross
• Junior dos Santos vs. Robelis Despaigne

Rousey vs Carano MVP MMA 1 PRELIMS (6 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. PT on Tudum and MVP YouTube)

• Namo Fazil vs. Jake Bobian
• Adriano Moraes vs. Phumi Nkuta
• Jason Jackson vs. Jefferson Creighton
• David Mgoyan vs. Albert Morales
• Aline Pereira vs. Jade Masson-Wong
• Chris Avila vs. Brandon Jenkins

Two of the most consequential women in MMA history finally meet, the only problem is its 17 years too late. Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano headlines the first Most Valuable Promotions MMA card on Saturday, May 16 at the Intuit Dome, contesting a 145lb bout over five five-minute rounds on Netflix.

Rousey vs Carano – Tale of the tape

Stat	Rousey	Carano
Age	39	44
Height	5’7″	5’8″
Stance	Orthodox	Orthodox
Record	12-2	7-1
Finish rate	92% (11/12 wins)	57% (4/7 wins)
Avg. fight time	3m 05s	Multi-round average
Last fight	Dec 30, 2016	Aug 15, 2009
Layoff	~9.5 years	~16.5 years
Background	Olympic judo (2008 bronze)	Muay Thai

Rousey vs Carano – Striking breakdown

Carano is the better technical striker on paper, and her career numbers back that up. She averages 4.50 significant strikes landed per minute against Rousey’s 4.17 (via UFCStats), absorbs at a rate of 2.66 against Rousey’s 4.14, and her listed strike defense is 64% to Rousey’s 44%. She hits more, gets hit less, and has the cleaner Muay Thai pedigree (via UFCStats).

Striking stat	Rousey	Carano
Sig. strikes landed per minute	4.17	4.50
Sig. strike accuracy	52%	47%
Sig. strikes absorbed per minute	4.14	2.66
Sig. strike defense	44%	64%
Career KO/TKO wins	3	3

It’s worth noting here though that Carano’s stats are 17 years old and built against EliteXC-tier opposition. Rousey’s boxing was always a liability, we saw her chin give out under both Holm and Nunes, but her numbers are inflated by short fights where she managed to dictate the terms. Neither fighter has the modern footwork or kicking arsenal you’d expect from a 2026 featherweight fighter, but that’s not so much of an issue when they’re facing each other rather than current competition.

Rousey vs Carano – Grappling breakdown

Rousey averages 6.26 takedowns per 15 minutes at 68% accuracy and 4.8 submission attempts per 15, which is still the highest figure in WMMA history despite Rousey having not fought since 2016. Nine of her 12 career wins come by submission, mostly armbars. Carano lands 1.24 takedowns per 15 and has exactly one career submission win (a rear-naked choke from 2007).

Grappling stat	Rousey	Carano
Takedowns per 15 min	6.26	1.24
Takedown accuracy	68%	66%
Takedown defense	50%	85% (small sample)
Submission attempts per 15	4.8	1.6
Career submission wins	9	1

It’s again worth noting here that Carano’s 85% takedown defense was built against fighters who weren’t 2008 Olympic medalists, so you can throw that out of the window against a judoka of Rousey’s caliber.

The intangibles

• Layoff – Carano’s 16-year absence is the longest of any fighter in a 2026 main event by some distance, and rust always shows up first when it comes to timing and footwork in the cage, which is the one thing she can’t afford to lose.
• Age – Carano is 44, Rousey is 39.
• Weight class – Rousey is moving up 10 lbs to Carano’s natural division, which strips the speed advantage that carried most of her UFC run.

How the fight likely unfolds

Rousey’s only sensible path is to close the distance, eat one or two strikes on the way in, secure the clinch, and convert to a hip toss inside 60 seconds.

Carano’s only sensible path is to keep her hips back, jab the range, and throw her right hand the moment Rousey ducks. If the fight reaches round two, then I think the stylistic edge tilts hard to Carano, she’s the more rounded striker and Rousey’s gas tank after nine years off is the biggest unknown on the card. The whole question is whether Rousey can get her hands on Carano before Carano can land flush. My prediction though is that she can and likely finishes the fight inside the first round.