# MMA legends Ronda Rousey, Gina Carano land Netflix fight. Here’s when
USA TODAY
Feb. 18, 2026, 6:08 a.m. ET
Ronda Rousey is making her return back to the ring in nearly a decade for a fight that has been long desired and is now finally happening.
Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and Netflix announced that the streaming platform would host and air a mixed martial arts event on May 16 headlined by the former UFC champion and Olympic medalist Ronda Rousey (12-2, 9 submissions, 3 KOs) against MMA legend Gina Carano (7-1, 1 submission, 3 KOs).
The bout, planned for the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, checks off a couple of firsts for both Netflix and the promotion group. It marks Netflix’s first-ever live MMA event, as well as the inaugural MMA event for MVP.
“Been waiting so long to announce this,” Rousey told Netflix. “Me and Gina Carano are gonna throw down in the biggest superfight in women’s combat sport history, and we’re partnering with the fighter-first promoter, MVP, as well as the baddest streamer on the planet, Netflix. This is for all MMA fans past, present, and future.”
The fight will be held inside of a hexagon cage at the 18,300-max capacity Intuit Dome. Netflix will stream the event live at no additional cost to subscribers.
Carano herself is anticipating the fight, honored that Rousey selected her for her comeback to the cage.
“Ronda came to me and said there is only one person she would make a comeback for, and it’s been her dream to make this fight happen between us,” Carano said to Netflix. "She thanked me for opening up doors for her career and was respectful in asking for this fight to happen.
"This is an honor. I believe I will walk out of this fight with the win, and I anticipate it will not come easy, which I welcome. This is as much for Ronda and I as it is for the fans and mixed martial arts community. What a time to be alive.”
Here’s everything you need to know leading up to the fight:
When is the Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano fight?
The fight is set for Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Gina Carano vs. Ronda Rousey fight contract rules
The Rousey-Carano fight is a professionally sanctioned fight under the Unified Rules of MMA. It will include five rounds, five minutes each. Fighters will use four-ounce gloves. Their fight will count as a featherweight bout at 145 pounds.
They will be using an array of fighting styles and techniques from different martial arts disciplines. Styles can include but are not limited to boxing, jiujitsu, wrestling, karate and judo.
Additionally, MMA allows grappling and kicking, and fights can stay standing or go to the ground. See the official rules for MMA, including the Rousey-Carano fight.
Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano fight odds
While no official odds have been released, Rousey is expected to be the heavy favorite.
Where is the Gina Carano vs. Ronda Rousey fight?
The fight will be held at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers. Inglewood is a city located in the southwestern area of Los Angeles County.
Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano fight card
Rousey and Carano is the only scheduled fight.
Gina Carano vs. Ronda Rousey fight tickets
Intuit Dome fits a little over 18,000 people at max capacity. Tickets are going to go quickly to watch two of the greatest women MMA fighters of all-time to go toe-to-toe.
Tickets will be available for purchase beginning March 5 on Ticketmaster.
Rousey and Carano will meet face-to-face during their press conference on March 5 at Intuit Dome.
Ronda Rousey height and weight
Rousey is listed at 5-foot-6 and primarily competed as a bantamweight at 135-pounds, but will fight up 10 pounds against Carano.
Gina Carano height and weight
Carano is listed at 5-foot-8 and weighed in at 145 pounds.
How old is Gina Carano?
Carano is 43 years old. She turns 44 on April 16, a month before the fight.
How old is Ronda Rousey?
Rousey turned 39 at the beginning of February.
Who is Ronda Rousey?
Rousey made her mark on the MMA world during a record five-year span from 2011 to 2016. Her 12-2 record includes nine submissions and three knockouts, many of which victories came within the first minute of the fight.
She became an Olympic medalist in judo. Rousey shocked the world leaving MMA behind for wrestling. She helped reshape WWE’s women division, building towards its first WrestleMania event.
Rousey is also a New York Times bestselling author. She’s also had her hand in acting, appearing in both Fast and the Furious and The Expendables franchise screenfilms.
Who is Gina Carano?
Carano is considered an MMA pioneer in the women’s division. She is one of the first combat sports stars to cross over into the entertainment industry.
Carano blossomed after turning heads with her tenacity in the cage. Between 2006 and 2009, she posed a 7-1 record with a submission and three knockouts under her belt. Additionally in 2009, she headlined the first major MMA main event to feature two women in 2009, a landmark moment for the sport.
Carano was referred to as the “Face of Women’s MMA” from her marketability and appeal outside of the cage. She landed major roles in “Haywire,” “Fast & Furious 6,” “Deadpool” and “The Mandalorian,” helping to pave the way for others such as Rousey to follow in her footsteps.
Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano Netflix details
The official start time hasn’t been announced at this time. However, the bout will be streamed only on Netflix.
The fight will be available to those with a Netflix subscription. A Netflix plan will be required to watch the fight. Prices start at $6.99/month for standard streaming with ads.
How to watch the Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano fight
Date: May 16
Where: Intuit Dome in Los Angeles
Where to stream the fight: Netflix
May 16, Intuit Dome, Los Angeles
Live on Netflix
I meant to post this in the MMA forum but missed. I don’t know how to move threads in this new forum yet. 
mang arent these two like old grannies by now lol, hope they stay safe
> # Ronda Rousey says her bout with Gina Carano is the biggest fight in MMA right now
Listen • 5:06Automated narration. Learn more
‘Biggest fight in the sport right now’ - Rousey on her MMA comeback fight against Carano
By The Associated PressUpdated March 12, 2026 10:22 am
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Ronda Rousey says her bout with Gina Carano on May 16 is the biggest fight that can be made in mixed martial arts, and they’re both thrilled to end their lengthy retirements for this long-awaited showdown.
Rousey and Carano made their first public appearance on Tuesday to promote their comeback bout at Intuit Dome, Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer’s sparkling new arena.
While Carano expressed gratitude and excitement about her first fight in 17 years, the ever-feisty Rousey sees the bout as the opening strike in an attempt to challenge the UFC “monolith” for dominance in the sport.
“This is the biggest fight in MMA right now,” Rousey said. “There are no two people in this sport with more international name recognition than me and Gina — except Conor (McGregor), but no one is going to sanction that. This isn’t a charity card. This isn’t a throwback, nostalgia card. This is the biggest fight in the sport right now, and it needed to happen now. This is fate between us. We have been on a collision course ever since I sat on a couch watching her on TV, just in complete awe what this woman was doing."
Both fighters were pioneers in the nascent days of women’s MMA. Carano was the sport’s biggest early television star in the 2000s — and Rousey said she became aware of the sport by watching Carano, eventually picking it up and honing the talent that single-handedly persuaded the UFC to create women’s divisions in the 2010s.
But the sport accelerated past the MMA icons, who both moved on to entertainment careers after their star power appeared to exceed their cage abilities. Carano, who turns 44 next month, hasn’t fought at all since 2009, while the 39-year-old Rousey last competed in 2016 before having two children.
Both fighters say they had never fully given up on MMA, and this bout was too tantalizing to pass up.
Gina Carano speaks onstage during Netflix’s Ronda Rousey x Gina Carano Los Angeles MMA Press Conference at Intuit Dome on March 10, 2026 in Inglewood, California. Credit: Getty Images for Netflix/Melina Pizano
“We only get to live once, and this makes me feel so alive,” said Carano, who also revealed for the first time that she has married her longtime partner, muay thai fighter Kevin Ross. “It’s 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.”
Rousey and Carano have finally decided to return for a fight that’s been anticipated and predicted for many years, despite their long career detours.
Carano said that while she never formally retired, she was persuaded to return after lengthy conversations with Rousey, who was nine months pregnant when she initially proposed the bout in December 2024. Rousey had no interest in fighting for several years while focused on professional wrestling and her family with former UFC heavyweight Travis Browne, but she got the itch after helping her coach in judo training.
Rousey said she retired a decade ago not because of back-to-back losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes, but because of neurological issues “that I didn’t really have any clarity about, and it just hurt to be around (the sport).”
Ronda Rousey speaks onstage during Netflix’s Ronda Rousey x Gina Carano Los Angeles MMA Press Conference at Intuit Dome on March 10, 2026 in Inglewood, California. Credit: Getty Images for Netflix/Melina Pizano
Carano also said she has been through several years of medical problems before feeling good enough recently to entertain a return to fighting.
“We both need to rewrite our own endings together,” Rousey said. “So I reached out to her, and it’s been such a journey to get here. So many obstacles. So many people tried to get between us. We went from barely knowing each other to being like, ‘You know what? We’re going to fight each other.'”
As to those obstacles, Rousey sharply criticized the UFC for a financial offer that she says was much smaller than what they’ll get from Netflix and Jake Paul’s promotional company.
Rousey initially wanted to make her comeback with MMA’s dominant promotion on its final pay-per-view card, but she sees the UFC’s offer as part of a corporate sickness in the company for which she made untold millions.
Rousey said she still loves UFC President Dana White, but the promotion’s corporate overlords have strangled fighter pay. Rousey even joined the sport-wide criticism of the fights announced for the high-profile UFC show at the White House this summer.
“Now it’s become about changing the entire landscape of the sport and challenging the monolith that the UFC has become,” Rousey said. “Of course, I just wanted to do something fun. I don’t have to change the world, but that’s the way that we do it. I’m so happy that we’re here, and I’m so grateful that Gina trusted me.”
The Netflix show is being promoted by YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, but Rousey made it clear she is heavily involved in the promotional end. Paul hopes to promote many more MMA shows in the future, and Rousey said she hopes to fill MVP’s version of White’s role in the company.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou also will appear on the card, fighting 40-year-old Philipe Lins. The 39-year-old Ngannou left the Professional Fighters League last week, and he said MVP’s initial plan was for him to fight Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven before heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk made a deal to fight Verhoeven in Egypt.
By The Associated Press
