Ronda Rousey Defeats Gina Carano In Return MMA Bout In 17 Seconds

Ronda Rousey wasn’t getting paid by the hour, so she made short work of Gina Carano in their return to MMA on Saturday night. Most Valuable Promotions held its debut show on Netflix on Saturday night, main evented by Rousey vs. Carano.

The match went quickly, as Rousey charged in for a takedown. Carano locked in a guillotine, but Rousey quickly escaped. She did a little ground and pound before locking in an armbar, and Carano tapped out immediately with 4:43 remaining in the first round. You can see the entirety of the fight below.

The fight was announced back in February and marked the culmination of years where the fight was teased and nearly came to pass in the UFC. However, the negotiations ultimately didn’t bear fruit.

The fight was Rousey’s first MMA bout since her loss to Amanda Nunes in December of 2016 at UFC 207. It was Carano’s first MMA fight since her loss to Cris Cyborg in 2009. Rousey is now 13-2 in professional MMA, while Carano is now 7-2.

After the fight, both Rousey and Carano were asked by Ariel Helwani if they would be willing to continue fighting. Rousey seemed to definitively say no, saying that she wanted to have more kids. Carano was doubtful but left the door open, saying, ‘You never know.”

Rousey is also of course a former WWE star, with runs in the company that went from 2017–2019 and again from 2022–2023. She finished out her WWE career at SummerSlam 2023, losing to Shayna Baszler. She made an appearance at AEW Revolution in March in a one-off to promote this fight, confronting Toni Storm and distracting her so that Marina Shafir could avenge a loss to Storm with a cheap shot.

RONDA ROUSEY WOW ! AND ITS OVER 😳 VS GINA CARANOpic.twitter.com/8N9pbrdy6x

— Nofanboymma (@nofanboymma) May 17, 2026