\u201cThis is not just the biggest women\u2019s fight of all time… This is something that\u2019s going to happen once in a lifetime,\u201d says Rousey
\n new york
\nRonda Rousey described next month\u2019s comeback bout against Gina Carano as the biggest mixed martial arts fight of all time and said it would be a pivotal moment for the sport.
\nRousey, the first US woman to win an Olympic medal in judo after claiming bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games, was the first female fighter inducted into the UFC\u2019s Hall of Fame. She successfully defended her bantamweight title six times before being stunned by Holly Holm in 2015.
\n\u201cThis is not just the biggest women\u2019s fight of all time … This is something that\u2019s going to happen once in a lifetime in MMA, is the beginning of something huge,\u201d Rousey told a press conference on Wednesday.
\nThe 39-year-old said the fight was not \u201cnostalgia bait or a cash grab\u201d but pointed to the commercial success of Mike Tyson\u2019s fight against Jake Paul as evidence that fight fans are still interested in watching big names return to the ring.
\nThe bout between Tyson and former YouTuber Paul in November 2024 drew a worldwide audience of 108 million viewers, making it the most-watched sporting event ever on a streaming platform.
\nRousey\u2019s fight with Carano marks boxing promotion company MVP\u2019s debut in MMA and will stream live on Netflix on May 16.
\nRousey also fired back at current UFC women\u2019s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison, who called her irrelevant on a podcast.
\n\u201cGina is so relevant that she\u2019s the whole reason the 145lb division even exists. I am so relevant that the only reason Kayla has a job at the UFC is because of me,\u201d Rousey said.
\n\u201cShe has the charisma of a wet towel and will always be in someone else\u2019s shadow.
\nThe next time she wants to talk, she should look down at her feet and consider who paved the road she\u2019s walking on.\u201d
\nOn fighter pay, Rousey confirmed the minimum purse for any fighter on the MVP card is $40,000 and that was \u201csomething the UFC cannot say\u201d.
\nFor 43-year-old Carano, who has not fought since a 2009 loss to Cris Cyborg, the experience felt different this time.
\n\u201cI feel real peace and excitement about it. It\u2019s not anxiety, it\u2019s excitement \u2014 and that\u2019s new for me.\u201d
\nIn the co-main event, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou faces Philipe Lins, while Nate Diaz meets BKFC\u2019s Mike Perry at welterweight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cThis is not just the biggest women\u2019s fight of all time… This is something that\u2019s going to happen once in a lifetime,\u201d says Rousey new york Ronda Rousey described next month\u2019s comeback bout against Gina Carano as the biggest mixed martial arts fight of all time and said it would be a pivotal moment for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542223,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-542199","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n