Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano met in an MVP MMA main event on Saturday, in a bout between two legends in combat sports, both of whom had not fought in 10-plus years.
However, Carano was a big underdog due to Rousey’s experience, and not having fought in 17 years. While fans might have expected an entertaining matchup that went the distance, that wasn’t the case.
Carano attempted to pull Rousey down onto the mat and put a quick submission move on her, but the more experienced Rousey quickly fought her way out, threw a few punches, and locked in an armbar.
And with that, Carano tapped out to Rousey in a mere 17 seconds, drawing the frustration of fans and sports talk personalities. Rousey reiterated that this was her final fight, and on Monday, Carano shared a statement reacting to her loss.
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“This was one of the best rides of my life. I felt locked in fight night. No fear just focused positive adrenaline. Love to my team,” she wrote in part of her X message.
“My heart is heavy, I wanted to throw, battle, win, but I kicked when I should have moved and was down and done. If I hadn’t tapped she would’ve broken my arm, as it had begun to crackle. The disappointment of losing like that is very humbling,” Carano said.
She also mentioned having to fine-tune her dieting and workouts to prepare for this fight, and that it will help her going forward.
“I needed to go through this fight to implement permanent lifestyle changes and now I feel like this is just the beginning. I can’t wait to see where I can push my body to go next,” she said.
A major story heading into the fight was that Carano lost 100 pounds to meet the California Athletic Commission’s weight requirements. She indicated in her message that they kept things honest with multiple weigh-ins, “extra tests and scans,” and drug testing.
“We made history, again. I hope @MostVpromotions MMA @netflix continue on because they CRUSHED it. Respect where respect is due. @nakisa_bidarian @jakepaul It was such a great experience,” Carano also said in her message on X.
The 39-year-old Carano also thanked everyone for the love and support throughout her journey, adding that it allows her and others to “face our fears and live our dreams.”
Carano had not been in a fight since the 2009 Strikeforce event, when she seemingly ended her career on a TKO loss to Cris Cyborg.
Although fans called out the matchup with Rousey as a publicity stunt and easy payday for the two fighters, the training and dieting clearly had a strong impact on Carano. Despite losing so quickly to a fellow legend, she realized the positive effects on her health moving forward.
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