gina carano and Ronda Rousey Set for May 16 Superfight at Intuit Dome
Ronda Rousey will come out of retirement to face gina carano in a long-awaited superfight scheduled for May 16, 2026 (ET) at the Intuit Dome in California. The bout is set for five rounds at 145 pounds and will be streamed live on a major global streaming service, marking a high-profile return for two of women's mixed martial arts' most influential figures.
What the matchup represents
This is the dream fight that lingered on fans' wish lists for more than a decade. Rousey, 39, retired from mixed martial arts after high-profile losses and a subsequent run in professional wrestling. Her career includes an Olympic bronze medal in judo, a historic run as the first woman to capture a major bantamweight title in the promotion that helped establish women's MMA, and a legacy that reshaped the sport's profile.
gina carano, 43, was a pioneering presence in women's MMA before transitioning to a successful acting career. Her professional record stands at 7-1, with the lone defeat coming against Cris Cyborg in 2009. Carano has said the matchup is an honour and that Rousey personally approached her about making the fight happen. Both fighters carry heavy symbolic weight—one who helped open doors and another who capitalised on them to reach mainstream superstardom.
Event details and promotional context
The fight will take place on May 16, 2026 (ET) inside the Intuit Dome, an 18, 000-seat arena in California, and will be contested as a five-round featherweight clash at 145 pounds. Promoters have positioned the card as one of the season's major combat-sport spectacles; the event will also be the first live MMA fight to be carried by a major streaming service, highlighting a shift in how marquee fights are distributed.
Promotional partners include a high-profile sports promoter known for staging crossover events and working with prominent names from combat sports and entertainment. The involvement of familiar crossover figures has helped frame the bout as both a competitive contest and a mainstream entertainment moment aimed at broad audiences beyond traditional fight fans.
Risks, legacy and what to expect inside the cage
Physical risks and legacy implications are front and centre. Rousey has been candid about concussion issues that factored into her earlier retirement, and her decision to return will renew scrutiny about long-term health considerations. Carano, who last fought in 2009, has been training and preparing for a comeback that many observers viewed as unlikely until recent months.
From a stylistic standpoint, the fight promises a contrast: Rousey's elite judo and explosive takedown-and-submission game against Carano's striking pedigree, which defined her early career. Both women possess crossover appeal that transcends fight records; Rousey is 12-2 while Carano is 7-1, and both have argued their competitive fires remain intact.
Beyond the result, the superfight will be measured by its cultural resonance. For long-time followers, it is the super-fight that never came during the peak years of both fighters. For newer audiences, it arrives packaged as an event bridging combat sport history with contemporary entertainment distribution, promising a high-stakes showdown that will be discussed long after the final bell.
