Rousey won the match with her signature armbarlock, forcing Carano to submit just 17 seconds into the bout.
Published May 17, 2026
Mixed martial arts (MMA) star Ronda Rousey has retired again after defeating fellow mixed martial arts pioneer Gina Carano with an armbar just 17 seconds later in her long-awaited non-title return match in Los Angeles.
After a hype-filled build-up, Saturday’s match became a jarring anticlimax, with Rousey just before slamming Carano to the floor and putting her into an armbar to end the match.
American stars Rousey, 39, and Carano, 44, are widely regarded as two of the most important female fighters in MMA history, helping push the sport into the mainstream during the sport’s heyday more than a decade ago.
Carano had appeared in several action movie roles and parlayed that success into a career in Hollywood, but before competing in Saturday’s featherweight bout, she hadn’t fought since 2009.
Rousey, a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in judo, went on to have great success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), but retired from competition in 2016 after back-to-back losses to Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm.
Fighters were lured back into the cage for Saturday’s card at the Intuit Dome with the promise of big paydays that will earn them millions of dollars from the streaming giant.
Rousey (13-2-0 MMA) returned to the cage after exiting MMA in December 2016, securing her 10th submission victory.
She then claimed that her return to the ring was a one-time thing, and after paying her respects to Carano, ruled out the possibility of competing again.
“Gina is the only person who brought me back to MMA. She’s my hero,” Rousey said. “She changed my world, and we changed the world, and I will never forget it and can never fully repay you.
“I’m so happy to finally be able to share this moment.”
When asked about the possibility of extending her comeback, Rousey added, “It couldn’t have ended any better. I want more babies and I need to cook.”
Carano (7-2-0 MMA) has been inactive in the sport since August 2009, but returned to MMA after talks and encouragement from Rousey last year. She admitted that the fight went too fast for her and regretted what more she could have done in a short amount of time.
“I feel great,” Carano said after the loss. “I wanted to fight, but I didn’t understand it. But she trained. She had her own strategy. I have so much love and respect for her, and this was the victory of my life. She changed that. I woke up every morning at 3 a.m. thinking about her. I fell in love with mixed martial arts again. There’s a lot to think about.” It’s just that the fight didn’t go the way I wanted.
“I wish it had lasted longer. I felt so ready and it felt so good,” she said. “But I haven’t been here in 17 years. I wanted to punch her.”
Carano, 44, wasn’t sure if she would return to MMA and chose to leave the door open.
Carano said before the fight that she had lost more than 100 pounds (45 kg) in the two years leading up to the contest, and the fact that she was able to get in shape for her return was a victory in itself.
“Right now, just stepping into the cage is a victory. It’s a victory to get here for the first time in 17 years. It’s a victory to fight a legend. I feel great. I just wanted to fight and I just couldn’t do it.”
