Ronda Rousey Vs. Gina Carano Breakdown

Ronda Rousey will face Gina Carano on May 16, as we preview this upcoming fight.

Rousey, 39, has not competed in MMA since December 2016, when Amanda Nunes stopped her in the first round — a result that came twelve months after Holly Holm had handed her a second-round stoppage loss and ended her run as champion. Those back-to-back defeats effectively closed her UFC chapter. She transitioned to WWE, became a multi-time champion across several years on the roster, and walked away from professional wrestling in 2023.

Carano's layoff is even longer. The 7-1 record she carried into retirement was built during a period when she was considered one of the most dangerous women in the sport, before a 2009 Strikeforce loss to Cris Cyborg brought her fighting career to a close. In the seventeen years since, she built a substantial acting career with prominent roles in The Mandalorian, Deadpool, and Fast & Furious 6. The bout will be contested at featherweight — 145 pounds — over five rounds of five minutes each with four-ounce gloves.

The Approach

Rousey will look to close distance quickly, absorb whatever is thrown at her on the way in, and get to the body-lock range where her grappling takes over. Once she's on the ground, the armbar remains her signature — she finished the majority of her career wins that way and Carano, 17 years removed from competition, is unlikely to have spent those years sharpening her submission defense.

If Carano can use lateral movement, well-timed strikes on the way in, and dirty boxing to disrupt Rousey's rhythm, she has a chance to keep this competitive on the feet for at least the early rounds. The problem is that Carano hasn't competed in 17 years either, and her physical conditioning for a five-round, five-minute format against someone with Rousey's grappling instincts is the largest question mark in the fight.