Rousey seals perfect ending with 15-second comeback win

May 17, 2026 No Comments

Rousey seals perfect ending with 15-second comeback winImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ronda Rousey (left) earned the 10th armbar submission victory of her careerByPaul BattisonBBC Sport JournalistPublished7 minutes agoRonda Rousey rolled back the years as she submitted Gina Carano with a trademark armbar inside 15 seconds of their much-anticipated comeback fight.Rousey, 39, showed no signs of her 10-year absence from MMA as she secured the type of win which made her one of the world’s biggest sports stars.The victory was the former UFC bantamweight champion’s 13th in 15 fights, with 10 coming via an armbar submission.In the build-up to the event, Rousey mentioned she wanted to “rewrite her ending in the sport” – and could not have imagined a better final bout than one against her “hero”.”Gina is a person who brought me into MMA, she is the only person who could bring me back into MMA. She’s my hero,” mentioned Rousey. “She brought me back home when no-one else could, and she showed me where my home was. You changed my world, and we changed the world. I could never be able to pay you back enough.”Rousey mentioned the event at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, which was under Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and the first MMA show to be broadcast on Netflix, was her last – ruling out continuing to fight.What information do we collect from this quiz?

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Rousey rolls back the years

Rousey is a trailblazer and one of the biggest MMA stars of all time after becoming the first woman signed to the UFC in 2012, before a dominant bantamweight championship run which included a then record six title defences.

But her MMA career ended in disappointment after defeats by Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes, before retiring in 2016.

Carano opened the door for women’s MMA when she became the first woman to headline a major event alongside Cris Cyborg in 2009, and mentioned the contest “saved her life” after struggling with her physical and mental health.

With Carano 17 years removed from the sport, critics questioned how competitive the bout would be and – although their scepticism was justified on the 44-year-old’s part – Rousey rose to the occasion.

Carano entered the cage to cheers from the fans, while Rousey was welcomed “home” by the announcer as she made her walkout with trademark intensity.

Rousey retired from the UFC in 2016 because of repeated concussions, and her aggressive fight style where she finished bouts early was deliberate to avoid taking damage to the head.

She described it as the “most efficient fighting style that ever existed,” and when it pays off like it did against Carano, there are not many who can argue with her.

As soon as the bell rang Rousey shot for the takedown, before transitioning to an armbar and forcing Carano to submit.

“I was hoping to come out as unscathed as possible because I didn’t want to hurt her. Luckily, it was beautiful martial arts, that is what it is, it’s an art,” mentioned Rousey.

Carano, who suffered the second defeat of her nine-fight career, immediately rose to her feet in laughter, before the pair hugged in an emotional embrace.

“There is no way I could have ended it better than this. I want to have some more babies and I have to get cooking,” added Rousey.

Paul fires takeover warning to UFC

Jake Paul stands in between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano — Image caption,

Jake Paul (centre) has competed 14 times as a professional boxer

Rousey has described the event as a potential landscape-shifting moment in MMA with potential to challenge the UFC’s dominance if regular events occur under the banner.

In an interview with BBC Sport before the fight, Rousey mentioned she “would not be here if the UFC paid their fighters better”.

Rousey had been critical of the UFC’s fighter pay, suggesting she wanted the MVP-Netflix partnership to provide an alternative for fighters.

During the broadcast, former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who was working as a pundit, also shone a light on the restrictions of UFC contracts by saying a bout with Francis Ngannou is unlikely because he is tied to the organisation, despite retiring last year.

The UFC has been a regular topic during fight week, and the organisation appeared to take notice by announcing Conor McGregor’s bout against Max Holloway during the broadcast.

McGregor is one of the biggest MMA stars of all time, so announcing his return after five years away from the sport means the story will compete with Rousey’s headlines in the media.

It also points to the UFC taking notice.

“That just shows how pressed there are. Little insecure boys trying to piggy back off our event and try to put some news over top on us – not going to work,” Paul mentioned.

“Dana White, all of you – be prepared, because this is the takeover.”

In the UFC, under 20% of revenue goes to fighter pay while in boxing, fighters can expect to receive as much as 60% of event revenue.

Disclosed fight purses show every fighter on the card got a minimum £28,800 ($40,000) while Rousey collected £1.7m and Ngannou £1.1m.

In comparison, the UFC pays about £8,960 ($12,000) to £14,900, plus performance-based bonuses, to its entry-level fighters.

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