Ronda Rousey Returns! ‘Rowdy’ Super-Fight Set For Netflix's Debut MMA Spectacle

Last Updated:February 18, 2026, 11:13 IST

Rousey returns to MMA, facing Carano in a five-round bout at Intuit Dome on May 16. The historic fight will be streamed live on Netflix, marking its first live MMA event.

Netflix is about to get a lot more ‘Rowdy’.

Why? Well, Ronda Rousey is stepping back into the cage.

The former UFC champion announced she will face Gina Carano on 16 May at California’s 18,000-seat Intuit Dome.

The five-round bout at 145lb will be the first live MMA fight streamed on Netflix.

“Been waiting so long to announce this: me and Gina Carano are going to throw down in the biggest super-fight in women’s combat sport history," Rousey wrote on X.

Now 39, Rousey remains one of the most influential figures in MMA history, as the first woman signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and its inaugural women’s bantamweight champion.

She retired at 29 after knockout losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes ended a dominant, unbeaten run.

Why now?

The comeback, Rousey says, was deeply personal.

Speaking on SportsCenter, she revealed the idea came while she was nine months pregnant.

“I saw a video of Gina Carano giving an interview and she didn’t look good… My first thought was like, ‘Oh my God, what can I do? What can I do to help?’" Rousey said.

She described Carano as the one woman in MMA she feels indebted to.

“When I was… depressed and gave up on the world… what I needed was a goal… I always said Gina was the one person I’d come back to fight for… the more that I thought about it… I need this fight."

Rousey gave birth to her second daughter in January 2025 and says negotiations stretched more than a year.

“This has been in the making since I was pregnant… We fought for this and we fought to fight each other… If I have to go out there and train you myself to fight me, I will."

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