On Tuesday afternoon outside the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, CA, two MMA legends, Ronda Rousey (12-2, 9 submissions, 3 KOs) and Gina Carano (7-1, 1 submission, 3 KOs), faced off as they prepare to battle in a cage on May 16, exclusively on Netflix.
The event, promoted by Most Valuable Promotions, is once again involved in a nostalgic event in hopes of attracting both casual and hardcore combat sports fans to this global event. Present at today’s press conference were the two founders of MVP, Jake Paul and Nakisa Badarian, along with the two headliners (Rousey & Carano), Francis Ngannou (18–3, 13 KOs, 4 submissions), and Brazil’s Philipe Lins (18–5, 9 KOs, 4 submissions). The Ngannou-Lins fight was recently announced as the co-main event, which strengthens the overall card.
Regarding the presser itself, both Rousey and Carano remained respectful, but the moment that has already gone viral is when the two faced off. This fight will surely attract those who followed MMA around 2013 and the hardcore fans who watch it today. Paul and his team know exactly what they are doing, and with Netflix backing this event, the expectation is that it will generate huge numbers. They’ll probably hold off on the shoving and talking smack until weigh-in day to build up the excitement.
Here are some of the quotes from Rousey and Carano.
RONDA ROUSEY QUOTES
On coming back to MMA:
I never thought I would come back. It didn’t cross my mind at all.
On how teaching her coach, Ricky Lundell, in judo brought her back to MMA:
I had put a lot of walls around my heart when it came to martial arts and everything like that. I was forced to retire over some neurological issues that I didn’t really have any clarity about. It just hurt to be around it. When he asked me to teach him, I was like, “Ok, fine. Come to my house.” Once I started getting deep into it again and explaining things, and getting back to it, it made me fall in love with martial arts again. It reminded me of the joy that it gave me from the very beginning.
On her journey to this fight with Gina Carano:
Once I found that love again, and I saw her [Gina Carano] not doing well, I was like, you know what we both need to reclaim our bodily identity together and rewrite our own ending together. That night, I reached out to her, and it’s been such a journey to get here, and so many obstacles. So many people tried to get between us and insert their own agenda. We went from barely knowing each other and respecting each other to being like, “You know what, we are going to fight to fight each other.” I told her I will train you to fight me if I have to. Luckily, I didn’t have to do that.
On how this fight has evolved to challenge the landscape of mixed martial arts:
I thought it was just about me finding my love for the sport and just about her [Gina Carano] getting back to finding that fire and that light in her eyes that we all fell in love with, but it’s become much more than that. Now it’s become about changing the entire landscape of the sport and challenging the monolith that the UFC has become. Of course, I just wanted to do something, and I ended up having to change the world, but you know what, that’s the way we do it.
On doing this fight with MVP and Netflix:
I’m so happy that we’re here, and I’m so thankful that Gina trusted me. When it wasn’t going to work out with the UFC, I was like, “We can do this on our own. We don’t need them. We don’t need anyone.” She said I’m going to follow your lead and trust you. That’s what led us to MVP and to Netflix and to us sitting here in front of the Intuit Dome about to put on the most-viewed MMA fight of all time.
On why Rousey vs. Carano did not work out with the UFC:
I knew that we could promote this on our own and that would probably be the most lucrative way to go about it for us, but I have such love and respect for Dana [White] that I wanted to bring this to him first. I said, “I can do this on my own, but I would rather fight for you than fight for me. Just make it make sense for me.” Originally, we were going to do it on New Year’s, and it was going to be the last fight under the pay-per-view structure, and he offered me the best pay-per-view structure ever. I was so grateful, but then Gina said she needed more time to get in the best shape possible. She wanted me to fight the best version of herself. I think that was fate. It was meant to be. It was meant to push us into the other side.
On working with MVP in the future:
He [Nakisa Bidarian] definitely would like some more fights out of me, but I told him, “I can’t be your Conor [McGregor], but I’ll be your Dana [White].” And he said, “We’ll see how this goes first.”
GINA CARANO QUOTES
On why she is returning to MMA:
Obviously, the motivation is that Ronda personally asked me. She was quite the charmer. She asked me politely. She thanked me for so much. She inspired me. Other jobs kind of came up during this, but nothing was as important as this.
On coming back to fight Ronda Rousey:
To share this moment with her and to be the one that she would come back for, she’s my one as well. We get to live once, and this makes me feel so alive, so I’m just super grateful for the opportunity.
On how long this fight has been in the works:
I first got confronted with it from Dana White in December 2024. For about a year, we’ve been talking about it.
On talks with Dana White:
Dana gave me a call, and he said, “Ronda’s pregnant and she wants to fight, and the only one she wants to fight is you.” At that time, I was extremely sick in my body and had a couple of rough years, like I think a lot of us did have. At that time, I was like, ” You know what, absolutely,” and it just became more and more real as 2025 went on.
On today’s press conference:
It is pretty incredible and surreal to be here today. It’s healing. It’s exciting. It’s everything I could have hoped for. I didn’t know I needed this so bad.
On the duality of Ronda Rousey’s personality:
She’s like wagging her tail, and she’s charming, but at the same time, she wants to rip my arm off and shove it up my a**.
On never saying she was retired and returning to MMA:
I never actually said I was retired. It’s just something that I just don’t think you ever know what I’m going to do. You can never predict that. I never rule anything off the table, which is probably why I’m sitting right here right now.
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