Netflix is entering the world of MMA and putting on a fight between two of the most successful female competitors in the sport.
The broadcaster announced the fight between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in LA.
It marks Netflix’s first live MMA broadcast and comes at an exciting time. The broadcaster is currently in a battle to get Warner Bros. Discovery vs. David Ellison’s Paramount, which is the exclusive home of the UFC in the US.
Rousey was the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo before switching to mixed karate in 2011. She became the first female fighter signed by the UFC and became the face of the game before retiring in 2016 and moving on to WWE.
He has also starred in many movies and series including Materials 3 again Anger 7 as well as The circle.
Carano started out in Muay Thai before moving on to MMA and becoming the face of the sport. She won seven matches before retiring after losing to Cris Cyborg.
Carano then became a successful actress, playing leading roles Haywire before the paragraphs Deadpool again Fast & Furious 6. She is best known for her role as Cara Dune in two seasons of Disney+’s I The Mandalorian. However, he was fired from the show in 2021 due to social media posts that compared being conservative in the US to being Jewish under Nazi Germany. He then sued Disney for wrongful termination, which was eventually settled, and later began working on projects for The Daily Wire.
The fight between Rousey and Carano was always considered the biggest in MMA; There was talk of a fight in 2014 but the talks fell through due to timing, weight considerations and Dana White’s role.
The fight will be professionally sanctioned under the Unified Rules of MMA and run over five, 5-minute rounds using 4oz gloves, inside a hexagon cage.
It’s also the first MMA fight for MVP Jake Paul, who has streamed several boxing matches for Netflix including Paul’s fight with Mike Tyson.
Tickets go on sale March 5.
“I’ve been waiting a long time to announce this: Gina Carano and I are going down in the biggest fight in the history of women’s combat sports,” Rousey said. “And we’re partnering with the MVP of the first fighter and the biggest and baddest broadcaster in the world Netflix. This is for all MMA fans past, present and future.”
“Ronda came to me and said that there is only one person who will come back to her and it is her dream to make this fight happen between us,” said Gina Carano. “Thank you for opening doors for her in her career and being respectful in asking for this fight to happen. This is an honor. I believe that I will come out of this fight with a win and I expect that it will not be easy, which I accept. This is as much for me and Ronda as it is for the fans and the karate community. What a time to live.”
Gabe Spitzer, VP of sports for Netflix, added, “After the record-breaking success of boxing, we wanted our first MMA event to be truly legendary. We are thrilled to continue our relationship with MVP and bring Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano together to deliver the high-level, icon-driven brand that our members want with the most champions—the greatest—the greatest of all time. The debut of MMA at the Intuit Dome is a time which we define.”
“MVP has always been driven by disruption and delivering the biggest moments in combat sports around the world, and today we are officially bringing that power to MMA for the first time,” said Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, founders of Most Valuable Promotions. “Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano are two of the most iconic fighters in the history of women’s MMA; they are icons who shattered the glass ceiling and helped build the foundation on which the sport stands.”
