Former female MMA stars Ronda Rousey (39) and Gina Carano (44) will officially return to the ring on May 16, 2026, in a match hosted at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and streamed live on Netflix. This marks Netflix's first broadcast of an MMA event, produced by Most Valuable Promotions.
The bout will be contested over five rounds, each lasting five minutes, in the featherweight division (63.5 kg). Fighters will wear 113-gram gloves and adhere to the Unified Rules of MMA. While no championship belt is on the line, the match carries significant pride for both competitors.
Gina Carano was the first woman to headline a major MMA event in 2009, alongside Cris Cyborg. She retired after that loss with a record of 7-1. Ronda Rousey is one of the most iconic athletes in women's combat sports history, winning six straight UFC fights—many ending in under a minute—before losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. She retired with a record of 12-2.
Beyond the main event, the card features other high-profile bouts, including Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins (heavyweight), Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry, Salahdine Parnasse vs. Kenneth Cross, and Junior Dos Santos vs. Robelis Despaigne. Preliminary matches include Phumi Nkuta vs. Adriano Moraes, Jefferson Creighton vs. Jason Jackson, and several others.
The main event is scheduled for 9 p.m. Eastern Time (01:00 GMT on May 17), with prelims kicking off at 6 p.m. ET (22:00 GMT on May 16). The entire main card will stream on Netflix with a standard subscription, while prelims air on Tudum.
Ronda Rousey told the Associated Press that she lost her love for MMA toward the end of her career, saying, "I didn't want to be there anymore." Now, she says she is happy to fight again on her own terms. On social media, Rousey criticized the UFC event at the White House as a "party of the oligarchs" and praised the Netflix card as "one of the best cards in MMA history."
Gina Carano, who found success in acting—most notably as Cara Dune in the Star Wars series The Mandalorian—insists she wants to reclaim her fighting legacy. She told ESPN, "People say Ronda Rousey fights the girl from The Mandalorian. No, I had a whole fighting life that opened those film opportunities. I am not fighting Ronda just to say I fought Ronda Rousey. I am fighting to win."
According to bookmakers, Ronda Rousey is the heavy favorite at -600 (implying an 86% chance of victory), while Gina Carano is the underdog at +425.
