Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano LIVE: Start time, fight card, location and how to follow historic MMA fight
Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano are set to headline Netflix’s first-ever MMA event this weekend.
The fight between the two women’s MMA legends was announced in February and is being promoted by Jake Paul‘s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP).
Rousey, a former UFC champion and WWE superstar, hasn’t fought since December 2016, when she was knocked out by Amanda Nunes.
The 39-year-old said the idea to fight Carano came to her while she was pregnant with her second child, after seeing her soon-to-be opponent appear unhealthy in an interview.
Carano, meanwhile, hasn’t competed since August 2009, when she suffered the first and only defeat of her trailblazing career before pursuing acting.
Both women have been forced to undergo rigorous medical tests by the California State Athletic Commission to be cleared for the fight.
Rousey vs Carano: Date, venue and how to follow
Rousey vs Carano will take place this weekend – Saturday, May 16 – at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California.
Netflix will be broadcasting the event worldwide at no additional cost to its over 300million subscribers.
Memberships start at $7.99 (£5.99 for UK account holders).
The main card is scheduled to begin on Netflix at 2am BST on Sunday (6pm PT, 9pm ET).
The event gets underway on Netflix from 2am BST Sunday
Based on Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua, a lucrative boxing clash staged by Netflix in December, fans can then expect Rousey and Carano to make their walks at roughly 5am BST on Sunday (9pm PT, 12am on Sunday ET).
talkSPORT and talkSPORT.com will be across all the action and news during fight week, right up until the conclusion of Rousey vs Carano.
Rousey vs Carano: Fight card
Subject to change
Main card
- MAIN EVENT: Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano – Women’s Featherweight
- Francis Ngannou vs Philipe Lins – Heavyweight
- Nate Diaz vs Mike Perry – Welterweight
- Salahdine Parnasse vs Kenny Cross – Lightweight
- Junior dos Santos vs Robelis Despaigne – Heavyweight
- Adriano Moraes vs Phumi Nkuta – Flyweight (Muhammad Mokaev OUT, via issues)
Undercard
- Jason Jackson vs Jefferson Creighton – Welterweight (Lorenz Larkin OUT, ankle injury)
- Namo Fazil vs Jake Babian – Welterweight
- David Mgoyan vs Albert Morales – Featherweight
- Aline Pereira vs Jade Masson-Wong – Women’s Catchweight (130lbs)
- Chris Avila vs Brandon Jenkins – Catchweight (165lbs)
Rousey vs Carano: What has been said?
Rousey and Carano came face to face for the first time at a press conference in early March, where the former blasted a ‘barely recognisable’ UFC.
‘Rowdy’ had previously revealed she was in talks with UFC president Dana White to make her return for the last fight of his promotion’s pay-per-view model before moving from ESPN to Paramount+.
“Once the UFC moved into the streaming model, it’s not about putting on the best fights possible anymore,” she said.
Speaking to ESPN MMA in her first interview when the fight was announced, Rousey explained her decision to fight Carano.
“I was nine months pregnant and I saw a video of Gina Carano giving an interview and she didn’t look good,” Rousey said.
“She gained an unhealthy amount of weight, and my first thought was, ‘Oh my God, what can I do? What can I do to help?’
“The reason why I had that thought was because she’s the one woman not only in MMA that doesn’t owe me a damn thing, but whom I owe immensely.
“I’m always trying to look out for what I could do for her. Her family owns a Caesars Palace; there’s nothing I could really do for her.
“Except for when I was in a similar spot when I was depressed and gave up in the world and inadvertently gave up on myself.
“What I needed was a goal and something to re-ignite my passion again.
“I always said that Gina is the one person I would come back to fight for. And I thought, you know what?
“She needs this. She needs this fight. And the more that I thought about it, I was like, I need this. I really need this fight.
“I reached out to Dana and asked him if he would be interested in it. And it didn’t exactly work out with the UFC, but it led us here today.”
Upon the announcement, Carano explained: “Ronda came to me and said there is only one person she would make a comeback for and it has been her dream to make this fight happen between us.
“She thanked me for opening up doors for her in her career and was respectful in asking for this fight to happen.
“This is an honour. 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 me as it is for the fans and mixed martial arts community. What a time to be alive.”
Netflix MMA card a ‘thank you’ to fans, says MVP’s Bidarian
Speaking to talkSPORT.com, MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian explained his motivation to move into the mixed martial arts business.
“It’s not at all an F you to the UFC,” Bidarian said.
“It’s more of a thank you to MMA fans and showing them that it’s not just about the big bold names that get the mainstream attention.
“But also trying to bring value to the hardcore MMA fan base that wants to see some of that top talent compete.
“There’s obviously criticism that Ronda and Gina are not at the prime of their career, Nate Diaz is not at the prime of his career, UFC wouldn’t give us that garbage.
“Well, the truth is, Nate Diaz was in discussions with the UFC to go fight there, UFC was looking at putting on Ronda and Gina.
“And then we’ve tried to fill out the rest of the card. Francis Ngannou is the best heavyweight in the world, in UFC or not.
“And the rest of the card is a mix of exciting matchups. There are some throwbacks like Junior dos Santos.
“There are some really young fighters, too, who are getting an opportunity to display their skills on the world stage.
Bidarian also made the point that MMA legend Diaz signed for MVP despite a higher offer to return to the UFC.
Diaz’s opponent, Mike Perry, is ready for a war come Saturday night.
“I’m well prepared for wherever the fight goes,” he told talkSPORT.com.
“I believe, with everyone talking, Nate’s fighting style, he’s been getting a lot of boxing.
“He boxed most recently and I had the bare-knuckle boxing mostly recently.
“So, me and Nate both coming back to MMA after over a thousand days off or whatever, but a fight is a fight.
“Me and him are going to go out there and throw hands. If it goes to a ground scramble, I’ll be prepared for that.
“I trained really hard to make sure that I’m able to hit this guy like he’s never been hit before.
“Next one’s always the best one. This is the next one. And we’re here to perform.”
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