While former WWE star Ronda Rousey seems to be done with her pro wrestling career, she appeared to be even more done with MMA, having not fought since her loss to Amanda Nunes ten years ago. But last September, Rousey opened the door to returning to the sport, citing the money earned by Mike Tyson in his fight against Jake Paul as potential motivation.Five months later, that motivation has turned into a full fledged comeback. In a Tuesday morning press release, Netflix and Paul's Most Valuable Promotions announced that Rousey would be headlining the streaming service's first ever MMA event on May 16, held in Los Angeles, California's Inuit Dome. Rousey will take on controversial former Strikeforce fighter turned actress Gina Carano."After the record-breaking success in boxing, we wanted our first MMA event to be truly legendary," Gabe Spitzer, Netflix Vice President of Sports Gabe Spitzer said in a statement. "These are more than just athletes they are generational stars, and having them headline our MMA debut at the Intuit Dome is a defining moment for us."Like Rousey, this will be Carano's first fight in many years, having last stepped into a ring in 2009, when she lost to Cris Cyborg. A fight between Carano and Rousey, considered the two pioneers of women's MMA fighting, had long been sought by UFC, but never took place as Carano seemingly moved on from MMA to focus on her acting career.Over the last few years, however, Carano saw acting roles dry up after she was fired from the Disney+ series "The Mandalorian" due to several social media posts, which included Carano mocking face masks used during the COVID-19 pandemic, and making accusations of voter fraud during the 2020 Presidential Election. Carano filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against Disney and LucasFilm in 2024, which was settled in August 2025.
