Many storylines came together as Ronda Rousey (12-2) and Gina Carano (7-1) clashed in the Octagon late Saturday night. The featherweight bout, streamed live on Netflix from the Intuit Dome in LA, marked the first showdown between two of the most influential female fighters in MMA history. Jake Paul’s first MMA bout on Netflix, courtesy of Most Valuable Promotions. And it’s the streamer’s latest stunt featuring pugilists far past their prime (Rousey, 39, hasn’t fought since 2016, while Carano, 44, last fought in 2009 and claims she lost 100 pounds to hit her 145-pound limit). Additionally, both have appeared in the Fast and Furious movies as tough characters, with Carano appearing in Fast and Furious 6 and Rousey being swayed by Michelle Rodriguez in Fast and Furious 7.
Next is posting on social media.
In 2013, which seems like a long time ago, Rousey posted a conspiracy-filled video on her Twitter account claiming that the 26 victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting (20 young children and six adult staff members) were paid actors, calling it a “must-see.” After a wave of backlash, Rousey deleted the video and wrote, “It’s more patriotic to ask questions and do research than to blindly accept what you’re told.” She finally apologized for the post more than a decade later in 2024, saying, “I regret it every day of my life.”
Carano’s post was made in February 2021. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, she posted an image of Jews massacred during the 1941 Lviv pogrom on Instagram with the caption:
Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers, but by their neighbors and even their children. History is so edited that most people today don’t realize that before Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made them hate their neighbors simply because they were Jews. How is that different from hating someone because of their political views?
The post trivializes the Holocaust by comparing the plight of Jews during the Holocaust to modern-day American conservatives. She also had numerous posts mocking people for wearing masks during the pandemic and questioning the results of the 2020 presidential election. Disney/Lucasfilm subsequently fired her from the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian,” citing her posts as “defaming people based on their cultural or religious identity is abhorrent and unacceptable.” Carano sued in a lawsuit backed by Elon Musk and ultimately settled with the House of Mouse.
And finally, their different political allegiances. Carano is firmly in the MAGA camp. In addition to being a 2020 election conspiracy theorist, she spoke at Trump’s rally in Las Vegas in October 2024 and accused Democrats of trying to “destroy us.” Rousey had a public spat with President Trump during the 2015 campaign after the former reality TV host claimed to be a fan of the president. This prompted Rousey to distance herself from President Trump, saying, “I mean, I’m not going to vote for him. I just don’t trust this person to run my country, that’s all. I don’t want a reality TV star running my country.” She followed that up by endorsing Bernie Sanders as a presidential candidate. There, Trinket Prince Trump gleefully celebrated his UFC loss to Holly Holm.
Let’s go back to that battle Saturday night.
It opened with a trailer narrated by Uma Thurman (which was objectively cool), a few mostly uncompetitive undercard matches (save for Always Game and a bloody Nate Diaz), the crowd booing MVP promoter Jake Paul at his own event, a graphic that misled Rousey’s age, and Rousey and Carano showing up a few minutes before midnight ET.
The biggest problem with these Netflix stunt fights, regardless of the age or condition of the fighters, is that the main event takes forever to start. This is because there are too many undercard matches, Netflix runs ads during live events, and because Netflix measures viewership by the product of views and hours watched, streamers are trying as long as possible to increase viewership.
Carano, who grew up in Las Vegas, came out to “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers in Vegas, while Rousey chose “Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett. The match actually started at 12:05 a.m. ET, late even by Netflix standards, but Rousey immediately took Carano down and pinned her with an armbar. There were a lot of charges and drags for the fight, which lasted a total of 17 seconds. At least those of us watching at home didn’t pay a fortune (and wait in Los Angeles traffic) to watch this joke match live.
After the fight, the two shared a touching embrace, which was far more interesting than the fight itself. And in the post-match interview, Rousey called Carano a “fucking hero,” which was a bit of sportsmanship, and announced that this was her last match and that she was looking forward to “having more fucking babies.” Carano, on the other hand, called just getting back in the ring a “win.”
Rousey vs. Carano was a precursor to UFC Freedom 250, which took place on June 14 on the South Lawn of the White House. The fact that this is only the second craziest thing to happen in the Trump White House speaks volumes.
