Netflix has made a splash in combat sports with special boxing events designed to attract the masses. And they are doing so again with their first-ever MMA bout headlined by female superstars Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano.
Rousey and Carano are two of the biggest names to ever enter the octagon and were highly influential in building women’s mixed martial arts as a sport. Both have gone on to star outside the sport in movies and television shows. And now both will return to the arena that made them household names as they prepare to fight each other for the first time.
Netflix will air the fight on Saturday May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
Rousey-Carano is being promoted under Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. Paul has worked with Netflix before, starring in two influencer fights against Mike Tyson and Anthony Joshua. The fight against Tyson, although ridiculed for its actual existence as a sporting event, set incredible viewership highs.
The fight will take place inside a hexagon instead of an octagon and consist of five 5-minute rounds, being sanctioned under the Unified Rules of MMA.
While Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano are much more established fighters than Jake Paul, you can probably put this fight in the influencer category. Rousey hasn’t competed in an MMA bout since 2016 when she lost to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. After beginning her career with 12 straight victories in dominant fashion, Rousey lost her last two fights before entering a career in professional wrestling with WWE.
Carano’s absence from the sport has been even longer. She last fought in 2009 when she was defeated by Cris Cyborg, putting an end to her undefeated streak in various MMA promotions. Carano was a trailblazer in the sport, putting female mixed martial arts on the map before it was welcomed under the UFC banner headlined by Rousey. Carano went on to become a mainstream movie star before her career was derailed after a series of controversial social media posts.
While the fight between the two is a dream matchup, it’s happening a combined 26 years after either have competed in a professional MMA bout. However, given the interest in the fight and the star power of the pair, it will be sure to generate another massive audience for Netflix.
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