Rousey vs. Carano undercard fights we want to seeESPN staffFeb 21, 2026, 10:00 AM ETMultiple Authors
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Women’s MMA trailblazers Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano are coming out of retirement to headline the first MMA card under Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions on May 16.
Rousey last fought in a first-round KO loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 in December 2016. Carano retired after suffering a first-round KO loss to Cris Cyborg in August 2009 in the now-defunct Strikeforce.
“Ronda Rousey is a 1-of-1 athlete,” Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, told ESPN. “What other female has sold 50,000-plus tickets to an event and generated millions of pay-per-views? … And her versus Gina Carano is the perfect combination to enthrall the masses and truly deliver a global night of MMA for all constituents.”
No other fights have been declared on the Rousey vs. Carano card, but we can’t help but wonder about the fantasy matchups among all-time legends who aren’t signed to an MMA promotion. Andreas Hale, Brett Okamoto and Jeff Wagenheim dig into their deep bag of epic fights in history to come up with three they’d want MVP to book.
More than 10 years after their back-to-back UFC middleweight title fights in 2013, former champions Silva and Weidman were supposed to meet in a boxing match on the undercard of Paul vs. Gervonta “Tank” Davis last November. However, Weidman suffered an injury during training, and former UFC champion Tyron Woodley stepped in. Silva knocked out Woodley in the second round on the undercard of Paul’s knockout loss to Anthony Joshua last December.
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A third fight between Silva and Weidman, who is 2-0 in the series, was never meant for a boxing ring, and if we really want an intriguing co-main event for Rousey-Carano, the trilogy should happen here. Sure, Silva is now 50, but he has been nothing short of exceptional in competition. Although he has routinely stated he’s focused on boxing, it’s hard to believe he’d turn down an opportunity to avenge his stunning TKO losses to Weidman.
Weidman, 41, who lost three of his last four fights before retiring from MMA last year, is not nearly the force he was when he knocked out Silva to take the middleweight championship and won the immediate rematch with “The Spider,” who broke his leg in the Octagon five months later. Still, Weidman likely would leap at the chance to prove his dominance over one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, with an audience of millions watching on Netflix. — Hale
Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir 3? We’d love to see it. FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty ImagesCall me old-fashioned, but I prefer fights between athletes who are still in their primes. These “fantasy” fights don’t always turn out so well. But if we’re having some fun, nostalgic me could enjoy a long-awaited rubber match between Lesnar and Mir.Those who have followed this sport long enough will remember when Mir caught Lesnar in a kneebar in their first fight at UFC 81 in 2008, and referee Steve Mazzagatti was egregiously late on the stoppage, after Lesnar tapped multiple times. Who can forget the famous interview ahead of the rematch, when Lesnar rewatched that first fight and broke the door on his way out of the room? Classic.
Lesnar got his revenge six months later at UFC 100, in arguably the biggest landmark event in UFC history. A lot has changed, but not these two personalities. Lesnar is fiery, and Mir always had that condescending tone that would get under opponents’ skin. There would be A+ storylines and the back-and-forth between these two leading up to a third fight. All of the elements a fight on Netflix needs. — Okamoto
Put Nate Diaz on the marquee next to anyone and stand back for the fireworks. Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLCMVP and Netflix would have me at Diaz. The opponent is an afterthought. It has been 3½ years since Diaz has been in a cage. Even though his last fight was against Tony Ferguson, who was past his prime, it featured all of the iconic mannerisms during the four rounds of action — pointing, stalking, combo-punching, turning away as if uninterested, laughing at the opponent, seizing an instant submission and then flexing. MMA misses this guy.
Diaz recently told reporters he is ready to fight again and listed three possible foes: Conor McGregor (nah, he’s not coming back), Dustin Poirier (retired, but still under contract with the UFC) and Mike Perry (hmm … interesting). Perry has reinvigorated himself in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, where he’s 6-0 with four KOs. Perry’s feisty persona could ignite fireworks even before the bell rings.
If not Perry, just find someone else to co-star in the Nate show. Anyone! Is Jorge Masvidal free for an encore of the OG BMF fight? What’s two-time Bellator champion Gegard Mousasi up to? If Paul hadn’t just undergone a second surgery to fix the jaw that was broken by Joshua’s right hand, I’d be up for seeing “The Problem Child” make his professional MMA debut against the Stockton slapper. Don’t sweat the small print, just adorn the marquee with “NATE DIAZ” in big, bold letters and watch the fans line up. — Wagenheim
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