Ronda Rousey to come out of retirement to fight gina carano in May super-fight
Ronda Rousey will make a high-profile return to mixed martial arts to face gina carano in a five-round, 145-pound superfight scheduled for May 16 (ET) at the Intuit Dome in California. The bout will be a headline event for a major streamer staging its first live MMA card, marking a landmark moment for women's combat sports.
Fight details and what’s at stake
The match-up is set for five five-minute rounds at featherweight (145 lb) and will be conducted under professional unified rules with four-ounce gloves. Rousey, who has not fought mixed martial arts in a decade, has a 12-2 professional record. Carano, who transitioned into acting after stepping away from MMA, holds a 7-1 record with her lone loss coming against Cris Cyborg in 2009.
The bout will take place inside a six-sided cage at the 18, 000-seat Intuit Dome and will be livestreamed by a major global streaming service as part of its first-ever live MMA event. Promoters say the match is being positioned as the biggest superfight in women's combat-sport history, offering both fighters a shot at reclaiming attention on the sport’s biggest stage.
Background: two pioneers on converging paths
Both fighters are credited with helping shape modern women’s mixed martial arts. Rousey first rose to prominence as a dominant athlete in the sport’s top promotion, later branching into professional wrestling and entertainment after retiring from active competition at age 29. She also won Olympic gold in judo earlier in her career. Rousey has previously cited concussion issues as a factor in her decision to step away from MMA.
Carano fought in the sport’s early years and became one of its first crossover stars before moving into film and television. The proposed fight was long talked about among fans, with negotiations failing to materialize when both were active competitors. Now, more than a decade later, the matchup will finally take place; Carano says Rousey personally asked her to make the return and framed the bout as an honour and a long-held dream.
Implications and what to expect on fight night
Beyond the immediate draw of two household names, the fight signals how mainstream distribution and promotional strategies are reshaping combat sports. Staging the event at a major arena and placing it on a global streaming platform guarantees wide visibility and could set a template for future crossover cards featuring legacy stars.
Analysts expect the clash to be as much about narrative and legacy as it is about styles. Rousey’s background in judo and submission-heavy finishes contrasts with Carano’s striking pedigree. Observers will watch conditioning and rust: a decade away from regular competition raises questions about endurance over five championship-length rounds, while Carano’s long layoff introduces similar variables.
Fans and fighters alike will also be watching the undercard and promotional build for signs of how this style of event will be produced and regulated. The bout will be professionally sanctioned, and organisers have confirmed it will follow established competitive rules for a five-round championship-distance fight.
For now, the announcement closes a long chapter of ‘what if’ matchups and opens a new one where headline fighters return on a different platform and under a new promotional model. The bout on May 16 (ET) promises to be a defining moment for both athletes and a major spectacle for the sport.
