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Ronda Rousey lavishes respect on Gina Carano – not so much for UFC

March 11, 2026

INGLEWOOD — Positivity flowed on the stage up to a point at Tuesday’s press conference outside Intuit Dome to promote the comeback fight of two women’s MMA legends.

Respect, adoration and inspiration were the vibes between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, uncharacteristic for most foes but true emotions for two pioneers of the sport who will don the gloves one more time and square off inside the Inglewood arena on May 16 under the Most Valuable Promotions banner on Netflix.

Even upon facing off after the press conference, the pair shared a smile and briefly held hands before embracing.

Ronda Rousey, left, and Gina Carano briefly hold hands after squaring off following a press conference Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at the Intuit Dome to promote their May 16 fight in Inglewood. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Any spite or animosity was reserved for the UFC, where Rousey reigned as champion and a global icon from 2013-18. Rousey gave her two cents and then some about her former employer while offering nothing but praise for her opponent in 37 days.

Rousey spoke about preparing for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where she won a bronze medal in judo, and finding motivation while watching Carano defeat Julie Kedzie in 2007. She and Irish sensation Conor McGregor are considered the biggest factors in elevating the organization into a new stratosphere for MMA.

Carano, seen as a trailblazer for women in combat sports who hasn’t fought since 2009, spoke of constantly being asked when she would fight Rousey.

While nine months pregnant with her second daughter in December 2024, Rousey said she saw an interview with Carano and it sparked an interest. Carano was long considered by Rousey to be “the one” if she were to ever fight again after stepping away from the UFC in 2018.

Rousey found her love for training and the sport rekindled and went about trying to manifest the comeback fight for both of them.

“It’s been such rough terrain to get here, and so many obstacles and so many people tried to get in between us and to insert their own agenda,” said Rousey, who shared the stage with Carano and co-main event heavyweights Francis Ngannou and Phillipe Lins and emcee Ariel Helwani. “And we went from barely knowing each other and respecting each other to being like, you know what? We’re going to fight, to fight each other. I told her, ‘I will train you to fight me.’

“I had to get her number and talk to her. Because of this, I had to meet up with her and find a way to make the contract work.”

Rousey, 39, put the wheels in motion with UFC President Dana White, with whom Rousey has had a long kinship ever since becoming the first woman signed to the UFC in late 2012, leading to her meteoric rise in the sport.

Carano, 43, said she first heard from White about making the fight happen.

“Well, obviously the motivation is Ronda personally asked me, and she was quite the charmer for so much, and she just, she inspired me,” said Carano, who shot to superstardom when she and Cris Cyborg became the first women to headline a major promotion event for Strikeforce in 2009.

“And other jobs kind of came up during this, but nothing was as important as this, and to share this moment with her and to be the one that she would come back for. She’s my ‘one’ as well.”

Rousey and Carano said White tried to make the fight happen before the UFC’s $7.7 billion streaming deal with Paramount, which did away with the pay-per-view model, kicked in Jan. 1. Once it appeared moot, and with Carano needing more time to prepare for their 145-pound, five-round bout, Rousey said White – whom she described as “loyal to a fault” – wished her well and advised her to make the most money she could.

Rousey on Tuesday, however, didn’t hold back on the UFC, shredding it for making fighters live “at a poverty level” and having to sell nude photos on OnlyFans, emphasizing that money is being hoarded to make shareholders happy.

“It used to be that UFC was the best place that you could come in combat sports to make a living and be paid fairly,” Rousey said. “And now it’s, it’s no longer. It’s one of the worst places to go. It’s one of the … it’s, it’s why so many of their top athletes are leaving to go and find pay elsewhere.”

Rousey, who considers White a mentor and friend, pointed out that White no longer being an owner has affected the UFC, not only in terms of fighter pay but matchmaking.

“He knows the White House card sucks,” Rousey said of the much-ballyhooed June 13 card that was recently revealed to underwhelming reviews. “He knows that they were pushing this for over a year, and it fell extremely short of expectations. He was so upset about it – he was talking about a fight falling out the day before, you know? I can guarantee you he’s not happy with it either. He’s the one that taught me through example to speak my mind.”

Rousey and Carano have found successful post-fight careers on the small and big screens. Rousey is raising her daughters with husband and former UFC heavyweight Travis Browne in Riverside. Carano is married and living in Montana.

Their fight in two months has all the makings of a one-off for each fighter, with Rousey implying she would be interested in joining MVP in some capacity and saying she told MVP bosses Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul that “I can’t be your Conor, but I can be your Dana.”

“Man, I really want some more babies. And I get to the point in my life where I can’t really be taking any more detours. And I want to be fully present for my, you know, my husband and my kids,” Rousey said. “And it gets to a point where it’s like, when are you going to be impressed enough with yourself to spend some time with your family, you know?

“Fortunately, I have been able to integrate home life with this camp, but I feel like this is trying to rewrite my ending with Gina. Maybe it’s like a ‘Lord of the Rings’ ending that keeps going on and on, or maybe it’s a grand finale. But I promised my husband, this is definitely the last one.”

Ronda Rousey lavishes respect on Gina Carano – not so much for UFC Orange County Register

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