Ronda Rousey has announced that her upcoming MMA bout against Gina Carano will be the final chapter of her professional fighting career. This significant declaration was made during a recent appearance on “The Ariel Helwani podcast.” The highly anticipated fight is scheduled for May 16, 2026, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
This event marks the inaugural MMA venture for Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions and will be streamed live on Netflix. The fighters will compete under unified MMA rules within a standard hexagon cage, with each round lasting five minutes and contestants using 4-ounce gloves. A press conference for the event was held on March 10, 2026, in Inglewood, where Rousey and Carano had their initial face-off. The undercard features other notable matchups, including Junior dos Santos vs. Robelis Despaigne and Francis Ngannou, among others.
Rousey Reflects on Retirement Plans Ahead of Carano Showdown
Rousey described the fight against Carano as her “dream fight” and the perfect culmination to her MMA journey. She shared with Helwani that she had promised her husband, Travis Browne, that this would be her last fight, even convincing him to support her involvement in post-fight promotional activities. Her husband is reportedly not in favor of her continuing to fight. Rousey also expressed her desire to expand her family and pursue her passion for writing graphic novels. She stated that financial incentives would not change her decision, as her family already enjoys ample financial security.
“I promised my husband up and down that this is the last one. He’s the one that I really got to convince to get on board for this promoter shit afterwards. He’s not 100% sold on it. He’s not going for the fighting at all after this. This is the dream fight. This is the absolute pinnacle… This is the perfect way to end it.”
This return to the MMA octagon comes almost a decade after Rousey’s last professional fight, a first-round knockout loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 on December 30, 2016. Prior to that, she suffered a knockout defeat to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in 2015. Rousey had previously cited concussions sustained from both judo and MMA as primary reasons for her exit in 2016. Throughout her MMA career, she achieved a record of 12 wins and 2 losses, with nine victories by knockout.
Gina Carano will be stepping back into the cage after a significant 17-year hiatus, her last bout being a knockout loss to Cris Cyborg in 2009. Carano holds a professional record of 7 wins and 1 loss, with three of her victories coming by knockout. While betting odds currently favor Rousey due to her superior grappling, Carano possesses a notable striking threat.
Rousey made history in 2013 by becoming the UFC’s first female champion, successfully defending her bantamweight title six times before her eventual defeats. She transitioned to professional wrestling in 2018, even headlining WrestleMania, before departing WWE in 2023 to focus on her family. Rousey was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018.
The highly anticipated event is rapidly approaching, with Rousey currently aged 39 and Carano aged 44.