Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano Set as Netflix’s First Live MMA Event

A decade later, Ronda Rousey comes back for a Gina Carano mega fight.

Professional MMA is heading to streaming in a major way. Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix announced a headline bout between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano on Saturday, May 16, 2026, live from Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The featherweight fight will stream globally at no additional cost to Netflix’s more than 300 million subscribers.

The bout will be professionally sanctioned under the Unified Rules of MMA. It will take place inside a hexagon cage over five five-minute rounds using 4-ounce gloves. Additional fights will be revealed later.

This marks both Netflix’s first live MMA broadcast and MVP’s debut MMA event.

A Long-Awaited Super Fight

Rousey returns to the cage after a decade away for a matchup many fans have discussed for years. The former UFC bantamweight champion and Olympic medalist compiled a 12-2 record with nine submissions and three knockouts. She became the first woman inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and helped push women’s combat sports into the mainstream across MMA and professional wrestling.

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She said the matchup represents the biggest super fight in women’s combat sports history and called the partnership with MVP and Netflix a moment for MMA fans across generations.

Carano enters with a 7-1 professional record and a Muay Thai background of 12-1-1. Long before women competed in the UFC, she headlined major events and helped legitimize women’s MMA on a global stage. She famously main-evented a landmark 2009 fight against Cris Cyborg, a turning point in visibility for female fighters.

Carano said Rousey approached her with respect and gratitude, adding she expects a difficult fight and welcomes the challenge for the sake of fans and the sport.

From Combat Sports to Hollywood

Both fighters became crossover stars outside the cage. Rousey expanded into acting, appearing in major action franchises and becoming a bestselling author. She also played a key role in elevating women’s wrestling to WrestleMania main-event status. Carano transitioned into action films and high-profile series, building a Hollywood career after her fighting days.

Their shared history as pioneers helped shape the sport at different moments, making the matchup symbolic as well as competitive.

Streaming Era Expansion

The fight continues a growing partnership between MVP and Netflix. Their boxing events have drawn massive audiences in recent years, including a record-breaking November 2024 event that reached 125 million viewers. Subsequent cards featuring high-profile matchups continued that momentum.

Now the companies aim to bring similar attention to mixed martial arts.

Tickets and Press Conference

Tickets go on sale March 5 at 10 a.m. PT via Ticketmaster, with presale registration available now. The fighters will also meet face-to-face at a kickoff press conference that day at Intuit Dome, hosted by combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani. More bouts on the card will be announced in the coming weeks.

The event streams live worldwide on May 16 exclusively on Netflix.

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