Following another successful fight night with Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul, Netflix is making the jump into MMA with a superfight few saw coming. Ronda Rousey is out of retirement, and what's more, she's taking on MMA fighter and former star of The Mandalorian, Gina Carano. The two recently spoke about their upcoming matchup, and I was shocked to find there's a wholesome story behind it.
Rousey was the one who shared her reasons for setting up the fight, which will stream for those with a Netflix subscription on May 16. While MMA press conferences are often where fighters deliver smack talk and make threats toward each other, Rousey made it clear that this was about giving two women a chance to control the narrative and rewrite their own endings:
Once I found that love again, and I saw her [Gina Carano] not doing well, I was like, 'You know what we both need to reclaim our bodily identity together and rewrite our own ending together.' That night, I reached out to her, and it’s been such a journey to get here, and so many obstacles. So many people tried to get between us and insert their own agenda. We went from barely knowing each other and respecting each other to being like, 'You know what, we are going to fight to fight each other.' I told her, 'I will train you to fight me if I have to.' Luckily, I didn’t have to do that.
While Carano didn't get specific about her health troubles, it was made clear she didn't feel physically at her best the past few years as she went through a lawsuit with Lucasfilm and Disney over her termination from The Mandalorian.
As for Ronda Rousey, while the bulk of her MMA career was marked by dominance, a couple of rough losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes led to her leaving the sport and transitioning to the WWE. Her stint in professional wrestling would also be marked with controversy, with wrestlers speaking out about some of her comments made about the industry.
Gina Carano hasn't fought in MMA since 2009, and retired after suffering a first-round TKO to Cris Cyborg. It's been a while since either has fought, but I think the motivation of both women to go out on top will make this a good bout.
Granted, the bar is high, as this is currently the most-hyped fight on the 2026 TV schedule. I'm not sure any fight this year is going to top it, unless Conor McGregor finally decides to take up Jake Paul on his boxing offer. I think the odds of that happening are zero to nil, but given that stunt fights seem to be all the rage, I'm not completely ruling out at least one other bonkers fight announcement before the year is up.
As for the big picture for Netflix, I do wonder if this MMA event is a one-off or if it intends to compete with the UFC, which is now regularly airing fight nights and pay-per-views for the price of a Paramount+ subscription. As a fan of combat sports in general, I'm all for the option of seeing more fights happening on platforms I already subscribe to and what could be a new era for MMA.
Suffice it to say, I'll be tuned in and ready to watch Ronda Rousey go toe-to-toe with Gina Carano on Netflix on May 16. The reasons for the fight may be unconventional, but honestly, that only adds to my intrigue surrounding this unexpected matchup.
