Nearly a decade after her unceremonious exit from the UFC, Ronda Rousey finally penned her storybook ending.
The UFC Hall of Famer and women’s MMA trailblazer needed just 17 seconds to submit fellow pioneer Gina Carano with her signature armbar Saturday atop the first MMA event ever broadcasted live on Netflix. After the fight, Rousey confirmed her second retirement from the sport that once made her a global phenomenon.
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“There’s no way I could’ve ended it better than this,” an elated Rousey said inside Inglewood’s Intuit Dome. “I want to have some more babies and I’ve got to get cooking.”
Despite spending nearly a decade out of the cage, Rousey (13-2) looked every bit of her vintage self. The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion rushed Carano (7-2) from the opening bell and instantly threw her to the floor, then advanced to mount and rained down a smattering of ground-and-pound, before snatching the fight-ending submission.
The performance marked the 10th armbar submission of Rousey’s career, all of which came in the first round.
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Afterward, Rousey heaped gratitude and respect onto her fallen opponent.
“Gina is the person who brought me into MMA. She’s the only person who could’ve brought me back into MMA. She’s my f***ing hero, man,” Rousey said. “You brought me back home when nobody else could. You showed me where home was when nobody else could. You changed my world and we changed the world, and I will never be able to pay you back enough. I’m so glad we finally got to share this moment.”
Rousey, 39, is one of the most influential figures in MMA history. An Olympic bronze medalist in judo who parlayed her gifts into a lightning-in-the-bottle run as a prizefighter, she famously played a pivotal role in UFC CEO Dana White opening the doors for women to compete in the UFC. After capturing the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title in 2012, Rousey then defended it six consecutive times in the UFC from 2013-15, becoming one of the most famous athletes on the planet.
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Rousey’s career came to a stunning halt in 2016-17 when back-to-back knockout losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes sent her into an early retirement, however the fight against Carano marked a surprising return for both women. Carano, 44, was the biggest star in women’s MMA history prior to Rousey’s arrival. In 2007, her and Julie Kedzie competed in the first-ever women’s fight televised on Showtime. Two years later, she made history again when her and Cris Cyborg became the first women to headline a major MMA event with their Strikeforce featherweight championship bout, after which Carano transitioned into acting.
For Carano, a moment 17 years in the making — which saw her lose 100 pounds over a span of 20 months — ended much quicker and more anticlimactically than she would’ve liked. Speaking post-fight, Carano left the door open for another potential fight.
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“I wanted that to last longer,” Carano said. “I felt like I was so ready. I felt so good. I’ve never felt that good, but I haven’t been here for 17 years. I wanted to hit her.
“I’ll probably feel [frustrated] later, but right now, getting in the cage was a victory. Getting here after 17 years was a victory. Fighting a legend was a victory. And I feel great — I just feel like I wanted to fight and I didn’t get that.”
Check out complete Rousey vs. Carano results and highlights below, plus Uncrowned’s play-by-play for the final six fights of the night.
Main card
Women’s featherweight: Ronda Rousey def. Gina Carano via submission (armbar) at :17 of R1 | Watch finish
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Welterweight: Mike Perry def. Nate Diaz via TKO (doctor’s stoppage – cuts) at 5:00 of R2 | Watch finish
Heavyweight: Francis Ngannou def. Philipe Lins via KO (punch) at 4:31 of R1 | Watch finish
Lightweight: Salahdine Parnasse def. Kenny Cross via TKO (strikes) at 4:18 of R1 | Watch finish
Heavyweight: Robelis Despaigne def. Junior dos Santos via KO (punches) at 2:59 of R1 | Watch finish
Preliminary card
Welterweight: Namo Fazil def. Jake Babian via submission (D’arce choke) at :58 of R2 | Watch finish
130-pound catchweight: Adriano Moraes def Phumi Nkuta via technical submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:59 of R3 | Watch finish
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Welterweight: Jason Jackson def. Jeff Creighton via TKO (punches) at :22 of R1 | Watch finish
Featherweight: David Mgoyan def. Albert Morales via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-27)
130-pound catchweight: Aline Pereira def. Jade Masson-Wong via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
165-pound catchweight: Brandon Jenkins def. Chris Avila via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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Jake Paul warns Dana White and the UFC that he and MVP are taking over MMA, noting that the promotion will host more MMA events in the future.
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Carano admits she wished she had fought a striker to get out of a fight that she had prepared for. She noted that she isn’t sure if this will be her last fight, but didn’t commit to a return.
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Rousey tells Ariel Helwani after the fight that she still plans to go home and expand her family. So that still seems like it will be the grand finale of Rousey’s career.
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Rousey immediately hits a takedown off a Carano leg kick. Carano holds a guillotine, but lets it go to get stuck in mount and she gets arm barred! Vintage Rousey. There you go.
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Uncrowned Staff
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Uncrowned Staff
Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation” is hitting the arena speakers! And there’s the scowl. This is vintage Ronda. What a scene.
