Countdown: Rousey vs. Carano (2026)

[bunniefuu]

[trainer] One, two. Boom! Cross-body pull.

-One, two. Body, head.

-[Ronda Rousey grunting]

[edgy music playing]

Cross-body pull.

One, two.

Body, head.

[Rousey grunting]

One, two. Yeah, jab.

[Rousey] Nothing was going to stop me

from putting this fight together.

[trainer] Nice! Jab.

I got into MMA

because I wanted to fight her.

[trainer] Elbows down. Jab.

[Gina Carano] I've been asked for so long,

"Would you ever beat Ronda Rousey?"

And the answer was always like, "Yes."

It's truly an honor to be her one

to come back for.

[both grunting]

[Rousey] This fight allows us

to rewrite our own ending.

She just caught me at a moment

where I was like, "Okay."

It's fate.

[edgy music fades]

[trainer] Come on.

[ethereal music playing]

[announcer] May 16th,

the first mixed martial arts event

to air live on Netflix.

[Uma Thurman] They say

time waits for no one.

But for a few,

time simply holds its breath.

[announcer] Two pioneers.

Two trailblazers.

Those words get thrown around

a lot in sports, but that's a fact.

[Thurman] For years now,

the world has lived in the "What if?"

The fantasy that the two

most famous mixed martial arts fighters

would come out of retirement

for a historic super fight.

[announcer] This is a dream fight.

A fight that most of us

never even dared to dream about,

because, let's be honest,

they fought in different eras.

[Thurman] But the wait is over.

And the "what if" is now a reality.

[music turns dramatic]

Gina Carano is more than just a fighter.

She's a legend.

The pioneering force that broke

the stained-glass ceiling

of a male-dominated arena.

She was the face.

[commentator] For the first time ever,

women mixed martial arts.

[Thurman] And the idea

that opened the door

for female fighters to come.

[Carano] Am I going to worry

about where I land in history?

I'm sorry, I just don't.

[Thurman] And then, she arrived.

Ronda Rousey, the Rowdy One,

the Arm Collector.

[commentator 2] The-- And it's over!

Rowdy Ronda Rousey continues

to amaze thee!

[Thurman] A force of nature

that tore the door off its hinges,

transforming from champion

to A-list celebrity.

[Rousey] I've gotten so much better

at things that nobody's ever seen.

This is the best

that I've ever been by far.

[Thurman] On Saturday, May 16th

in Los Angeles, California,

the two most significant MMA fighters

to ever enter the cage

will finally face each other

in a landmark event.

"Historic" doesn't even begin

to scratch the surface.

[Thurman] Bridging the gap

between two eras and two icons

whose heights never aligned.

I would not have known

that women's MMA existed

if it wasn't for her.

At the same time, she wants

to rip my arm off and shove it up my a*s.

[Thurman] Ronda Rousey.

Gina Carano.

One, the architect of women's MMA.

I'm definitely coming to win,

make no mistake about that.

[Thurman] The other, a trailblazer

who shook its foundation.

I want to prove to her that she created

something bigger than herself.

[Thurman] They say that the past

is a ghost you shouldn't chase.

But some stories deserve a final chapter.

Closure.

On Saturday, May 16th,

five rounds in the cage will quiet

the lingering question, "What if?"

This is Countdown: Rousey vs. Carano.

[bell ringing]

[Bear Degidio] Ladies and gentlemen,

boys and girls, children of all ages,

the most iconic women's MMA fighter

in the history of women's fighting in MMA,

Gina Carano!

[all cheering]

-Come on!

-Yeah!

[Degidio] Are you kidding me?

The queen is back! The queen is back!

-Netflix!

-Come on!

[Carano] I get nervous.

That's why I don't do a lot of interviews.

But that energy just now, like Oh!

The last time you fought was 2009?

[Carano] Twenty-- I think

I was 27 years old, maybe.

So, that was a long time ago.

What does that look like, coming back

to this sport after 17 years away?

[Carano] I grew up

getting into a lot of trouble.

I was a bit crazy, a little bit

out of my mind in my twenties.

So I was fighting

out of a place of, um, survival.

Growing up, I had

kind of, like, a colder energy.

Maybe that looked

like a chip on my shoulder.

But I was definitely not a troublemaker.

I just would end up in trouble.

[gripping music playing]

[Thurman] Raised amidst the neon allure

and tempting background of Las Vegas,

Gina Carano instinctively sought the grit

of an untamed path.

A teenage rebellion

against what would be considered

an affluent upbringing.

Choosing the streets,

rather than stepping

into a designed life of privilege.

[Carano] I didn't ever think about

having a future.

You're supposed to go to law school,

you're supposed to go be a doctor,

definitely going to college.

I didn't like

money being held over my head.

So, that's when I met Kevin.

The second I laid my eyes on her, I was

in love forever.

[Carano] We were young,

and were living a life

that we lost a lot of friends

to drugs, alcohol, m*rder.

It was not a good place to be.

How badly can we destroy our lives?

And that's the life we lived in Vegas.

And then Kevin decided

that he was going to stop drinking

and start training Muay Thai.

[Ross] At that time,

there was no Muay Thai in America.

It was just non-existent.

You couldn't even tell people.

They didn't know what it was.

[Carano] I walked into the gym

he was training at,

and this little Thai man came up to me,

Master Chan, my first-ever coach,

and he said, "Oh, baby, you're fat.

You need to lose weight."

And I was like, "Uh-huh. Yeah, okay.

All right, let's start training."

[gripping music playing]

Once you start training and learning,

it is so addicting.

You fall in love with it.

I lost 30 pounds,

and I had my first fight six months later.

[Thurman] Gina Carano quickly mastered

the Muay Thai striking style,

utilizing punches, kicks,

elbows, and knees.

One, two, three, low, rip it in there, go.

[Thurman] In 2006, the growing popularity

of mixed martial arts was hard to ignore,

and her interest soon turned.

Carano's journey

from a decorated Muay Thai champion

to a groundbreaking MMA debutante

was swift.

[Mauro Ranallo] Gina Carano

was the first mainstream star

for women's mixed martial arts,

one of the most dangerous female fighters

in early women's MMA.

I was the first female-sanctioned fight

that happened in Las Vegas, Nevada.

She was then a part

of the first women's MMA fight

on broadcast television.

[commentator] Oh, to the head,

to the body!

Go hard or go home

Go hard or go home

Go hard or go home

[commentator] There's a right hand

that drops Kedzie!

[announcer] The face of women's MMA,

Gina Carano!

[Helwani] She's got everything you'd want

in a superstar fighter.

Everyone was like,

"Holy crap, who is that?"

Now, don't be nervous.

I've seen what you can do.

I'd rather get punched

in the face right now. This is Oh!

My speed will make you levitate

Switch gears, never hesitate

[trainer] Yeah!

-[exhales heavily]

-Very nice.

[music fades]

[Thurman] Carano's blend of good looks

and raw power quickly ordained her

as the face of women's MMA.

Her 7-0 undefeated record only added

to her celebrity

as the women's side of MMA

began to catch on.

[riveting music playing]

On August 15th 2009,

Carano took on 7-1 Chris "Cyborg" Justino,

the first time two women headlined

an MMA event.

A premature collision

between popularity and unmatched power.

[commentator] These two ladies

wasting no time going at it.

[Helwani] It was the fight that

everyone wanted to see in women's MMA.

In the end,

it did not go well for Gina Carano.

[commentator] Cyborg, pouring it on.

-[air horn blares]

-Cyborg! It's over!

[Thurman] As the first woman

to carry the mainstream torch,

her sole professional loss felt

less like a defeat

and more like the end of an era.

[Helwani] She has never fought since.

There was a feeling like,

"Man, as quickly as you arrived,

you disappeared as well."

Don't make it crazy,

just nice and relaxed.

Let's get the demons out.

[Thurman] Over the years,

the temptation to return remained.

Contracts were offered, but Carano chose

to leave her reputation

as a pioneer intact.

[somber music playing]

Now, nearly two decades later,

with the help of her coach John Wood,

Gina Carano will once again enter the cage

against an equally dangerous opponent.

[Wood] The thing with Gina is

being out so long,

there isn't the wear and tear on the body.

Here we go.

[both grunting]

She still has the speed,

she still has the power.

She hits like a fricking ton of bricks.

I mean, she still kicks like a mule.

[Jake Paul] I feel like there's something

in every human

when you see

this perfect opportunity and synergy,

and that's what we have in front of us.

I believe they both always wanted

to fight each other,

and to prove who was better.

-[Wood] Looking good.

-Yeah.

This is probably, I'd say,

one of the hardest things I've ever done.

It's one thing to

[Wood] It's crazy.

walk into a gym like, "I wanna fight."

It's another thing to take the time off,

know what it is.

That fighter kicks in and you go,

"Oh, this is what we're doing."

[Carano] Yeah.

I don't really like to look back

and say I'd like to change things.

I like to think, you know, I learned.

Had that fight gone better with Cyborg,

I might be a completely different person.

I wouldn't be sitting here

excited to fight Ronda Rousey.

[music fades]

[rooster crowing]

[Rousey] We're going to go

clean the duck pond

and probably give the chickens some food

and get some eggs.

Look at that.

Hi, guys. So we take all of our scraps.

They'll eat old meat, old pasta,

old cheese, anything.

[unlatches gate]

Every section of my life feels

like a whole other person ago.

I'm totally not who I was

when I was doing judo.

I'm not who I was when I was at the UFC.

I'm not who I was when I was in the WWE.

This isn't part of the training. [laughs]

I was doing this sh*t when I was pregnant.

[gentle music playing]

My garden up front has gone to sh*t

since I've had children.

I'm like, "I'm not keeping anything alive

other than little humans now."

I just have so many other things

that are important now,

and I think that that kind of balance

is really healthy.

This is definitely my favorite me so far.

[Thurman] It's hard to imagine

Ronda Rousey living the quiet life,

away from the roar of the crowds

she once absorbed.

Ducks are dirty,

but, man, their eggs are so good.

[Thurman] But here, east of Los Angeles,

the former champion has traded in

her combat gloves for just that.

[Rousey] This isn't all sh*t.

A lot of it's dirt.

[Thurman] A sanctuary built on balance,

not much different than a dojo,

where as a young kid,

the gentle art of judo came easy.

[Rousey] I remember the first day

I did judo, I didn't have a hair tie.

My hair was crazy, all over the place,

and I was trying to do it.

I can't really say it any other way,

but I was a prodigy at it.

You usually start judo when you're six

and my first tournament was

on my 11th birthday.

Five years later,

I was the number one woman

in the country at my weight.

[Thurman] Rousey's meteoric rise

in the sport culminated

at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games

in Beijing, where she won bronze,

becoming the first American woman

to earn an Olympic medal in judo.

[gentle music continues]

But the structured confines of the sport

began to feel restrictive,

and with the path to women's MMA now clear

thanks to Gina Carano,

Rousey sensed an opportunity.

[grunting]

[music fades]

[Rousey] You peak in judo

in your mid-twenties.

I was already

a world Olympic medalist at 21,

and maybe I just needed a break from judo.

And so, when I saw MMA becoming a thing,

and I saw Gina Carano doing it,

I was like, "Wait a minute."

"They get to be on the ground

as long as they want?"

"No one stands them up?"

They're like, "No."

I'm like, "Dude,

I would f*cking k*ll her."

So, that's one thing that drew me to MMA,

is how uninvolved the referees are.

So I was like, "Give me a year."

Less than a year from my pro debut,

I won the Strikeforce Championship.

[rock music playing]

[Thurman] Rousey's unique brand

of dominance

was a seismic, unapologetic earthquake.

Rivaled only by the sudden

mainstream success of mixed martial arts

and the rise

of the Ultimate Fighting Championship

and its pay-per-view model,

she dismantled opponents

with her signature inevitable armbar,

both terrifying and mesmerizing

for the few moments

she allowed her fights to last.

I try to keep her on a short leash

I try to calm her down

I try to ram her into the ground

Yeah

[Nakisa Bidarian] The armbar, infamous.

Ten seconds, 20 seconds, 30,

it was unbelievable.

[Helwani] When Ronda hit the armbar,

it was over.

MMA had never seen anything like that.

No one knew how to get out of it.

It was the closest thing that we had

to a pro wrestler's finisher.

When Hulk Hogan hit you with the leg drop,

Jake the Snake with the DDT, it was over.

[Ranallo] Ronda Rousey recorded

the fastest UFC female title fight win

in history.

Fourteen seconds is all it took!

She is not born like other girls

[Thurman] Rousey, in just four years, had

an incredible 12-0 record.

But as opponents tapped out,

her popularity set in.

[Helwani] She was

a million pay-per-view buy,

and at one point,

felt bigger than the UFC itself.

At the peak of her powers,

Ronda Rousey was a true global phenomenon.

Yo, stop following me, m*therf*cker!

No! We know each other.

Do you remember me?

Didn't you used to be really fat?

-Rumpy what?

-What? Wait a second. Wait.

-Rumpy what?

-Yeah, all right.

Rumpelstiltskin! All right.

[Helwani] This is a superstar.

This woman has it.

[Ranallo] It was Carano who proved

that women could fight on the big stage,

and then it was Ronda Rousey who proved

that women could own the stage.

[music fades]

[body thuds on training mat]

[Rousey] That's right on, that's knee.

Right there.

I have a really unique style of judo.

Gripping and fighting for position

is something

that I was the best at in judo ever.

-Which way do you want to go?

-Let me do a regular before a reverse.

They get you up so quickly in judo,

so I had to transition to my submission

on the way to the ground,

which is why my submissions are so fast.

It's why I work so quickly.

And it applies so well to MMA.

You see my judo in my fighting.

MMA allowed me to, like, finally be free.

It unleashed me in a way

that judo was holding me back.

They would kick back, yeah.

[Thurman] Ronda Rousey helped transform

the MMA cage,

taking it from upright striking

to the canvas.

[rock music playing]

But it was her signature armbar

that haunted opponents.

It became less of a technique

and more of an inescapable fate,

one that Gina Carano will do her best

to avoid on Saturday, May 16th.

[Rousey] I'm hyped for it

because the way that she strikes

at a distance, and close,

and on the ground,

she's deadly everywhere.

When she gets down,

she knows how to get up,

but she's not getting up.

[rock music continues]

[Helwani] Every bit of this

is just massive.

It's one of the most significant events

in recent MMA history.

I guarantee you'll get

millions of people that watch.

That's just gonna grow the sport,

which is gonna be great.

[host 1] Let's be real here.

Who's winning this?

I would certainly favor Ronda Rousey.

Her judo will dominate this.

[Matt Serra] If it hits the floor,

I feel that it should be

a submission fairly quickly.

One of the best submission artists ever.

I think Gina's confidence

is stronger than Ronda's.

The difference in striking

would definitely benefit Gina.

Gina Carano's a legit kickboxer.

If Carano's able to maintain range,

she has a real shot.

But if Rousey gets her hands on her,

then Rousey's grappling

may be the deciding factor.

All Gina gotta do

is just not let her headlock her.

Final prediction right now.

First round, submission, Ronda Rousey.

I'm gonna say arm lock.

Gina Carano wins by stoppage

in the first round.

This is the biggest fight

going on right now.

This is absolutely insane.

This is the fight that I always wanted.

There's nobody I would have

come out for, except for her.

Gina hasn't fought forever,

but she knows how to fight.

Ronda looks fit.

She doesn't look like she's lost a step.

You look absolutely incredible,

and I'm sizing you up, okay?

-I swear.

-Same!

I'm number one

Like a toxin

It's go time

You called it

[music fades]

[Carano grunting]

[bell ringing]

She gives you this way, you take that way.

She gives you that way, turn the corner.

There. Punch from there.

I'm Gina Carano's boxing coach.

Since she started MMA,

I've been part of the team.

Take control.

Make her fight for every little inch.

Good. And don't feel

like, "I gotta do more."

Change it, give me some more--

Yeah, control me with everything. Yeah.

[Carano] He's been with me

since the beginning.

When I came back, there's no way

I'd do this without him.

[exciting music playing]

[Ranallo] This fight is

a classic striker versus grappler contest.

Gina Carano, she's a striker,

so she's gonna want

to keep this fight standing,

utilizing her Muay Thai skills.

While Rousey, she's gonna want

to close the distance.

Grab the clinch,

bring the fight to the ground,

where her submissions are most dangerous.

[Chris] On your terms, double.

Ronda was the girl in MMA gyms

that could submit the guys.

Like, her judo, jiu-jitsu is that good.

It's ridiculous.

Don't get greedy.

Land a couple, make her reset.

Gina was the girl

that the guys did not want to spar with,

because she would hit you

and she would hit you hard.

No question, we have a place

where we want to keep this fight.

Over the top.

None of us would do it

if we didn't think Gina would win.

We have our game plan,

and I expect to knock Ronda out

at some point in the fight.

Quick feet, quick hands.

That. Give it up.

Ben, you got somebody

to come after we're done

and sweep up all the rust?

The rust is falling off now.

[exciting music continues]

[Carano] We both have our game plans.

The moment that bell sounds,

I think I'm getting a big ball

of Ronda rushing at me.

[Chris] Good.

You just never know

what's gonna happen in a fight, right?

[Thurman] Learning to adapt

to what's in front of you

is pivotal in turning obstacles

into opportunities.

Life, much like the cage

in its often chaotic unfolding,

rarely follows a Hollywood script.

Back in 2009, after suffering

her only professional defeat to Cyborg,

the idea of getting

back into the cage lingered.

But as one door swayed on its hinges,

another opened.

[Carano] I got a phone call from an agent.

He had gotten an interesting phone call

from a man named Steven Soderbergh,

one of the most incredible directors.

You get a call from Steven Soderbergh,

any A-list actor will drop

what they're doing and take that.

The film was called Haywire, which--

I have a special connection to that word

now because it's my first movie,

and when people are like,

"Everything's going haywire,"

I'm like, "I know." [chuckles]

[funk music playing]

That led me into Hollywood,

and I just got addicted to doing that.

Then I got Fast and the Furious.

Why should I help you?

Deadpool. That was so much fun.

[Deadpool] Whoo! Superhero landing!

[Carano] Just being the character

that just gets to be bad,

and you don't have

to be apologetic about it at all.

I'm craving playing

that kind of character again.

Just, you know, I just want to be bad.

Thanks!

Then I got a phone call

that Jon Favreau wanted to meet me.

I was the first actress they met with

for The Mandalorian.

[grunting]

We went to the storyboards,

and then they come to this woman

that looks like me, and he was like,

"Here we are. This is the character

that we have in mind for you."

That one blew my mind.

[music fades]

[Thurman] Carano's cinematic trajectory,

however, shifted quickly.

[somber music playing]

In 2021,

her unfiltered social media presence

got her into hot water.

After posting about sensitive

political and social issues,

she was fired and, overnight,

shunned from the industry.

A self-inflicted entanglement

where the intersection of free speech

met modern entertainment

and its idealistic boundaries.

[music turns serene]

[Carano] After I got fired,

I took it out internally, on myself,

and it led to a progressive sickness.

There'd be weeks I'd lay in bed

and just be like,

"Gosh. Everything I worked for"

I got to such a point of pain and anxiety

to where your skin hurts.

[serene music continues]

Somebody told me once, being fired

or going through the worst part

of your life,

in a couple years,

you might look back and think,

"Maybe that's exactly what I needed."

And maybe it was.

[music fades]

-[Ross] You gonna put the ground beef in?

-[Carano] Yes. Bigger. Yeah.

-[Ross] Bigger than that?

-[Carano] Yeah.

[Ross] Egg whites or both?

[Carano] Mm Egg whites, yeah, egg whites.

Me and Kevin, we mastered some meals

over the COVID lockdown.

This is a made-up avocado shrubbery.

I call it "shrubbery," it's cabbage.

Some ground beef,

and then you dip it in some Greek yogurt

and mix it in with salsa.

[solemn music playing]

[Thurman] For three and a half years,

Carano struggled with her new reality.

Two life-defining careers, now in limbo.

But a year and a half ago,

the rumblings of a potential fight

with Ronda Rousey began,

and it was enough motivation

to return to the familiar refuge

of mixed martial arts.

Now that the fight is set,

it's a daily, disciplined struggle.

One small victory at a time.

[music intensifies]

[Carano] I'm just

really being super strict.

Because that's the first victory,

is weighing in on May 15th.

So, that'll be my first victory.

Getting back into training is humbling.

Humbling.

Like, this is not easy at all.

But I feel like every ounce in me

feels like it's worth it.

My fallout with Hollywood

changed everything.

I wouldn't be taking a fight at all.

I'd be acting.

That's why I think it's the best thing

that could ever happen to me.

Because I am so happy now.

Every bite is going to be so worth it.

[both chuckling]

Martial arts is a healing thing.

As violent as it might seem

to everybody else,

it's healed me twice now.

And saved my life, I'd say.

[music fades]

[fan whirring]

[Rousey panting]

[Thurman] By 2015, Ronda Rousey was

on top of the world.

Undefeated in the cage,

a pop culture icon,

and one of the most famous people

in the world.

A blessing and a burden at the same time.

Heavy is the head who wears the crown.

[Rousey] Fame is a hustle.

It's something you have to do constantly.

You have to feed it,

so I was constantly feeding it,

because it was a tool I was using

to accomplish the things

that I wanted to accomplish.

And then it gets out of control a bit.

I had people camping outside of my house

and taking pictures of me,

like, feeding my dog in my backyard,

and mobs of people circling the car.

Stalkers showing up at my house, and

I mean, I was just f*cking exhausted.

And I needed a break so bad.

And then Dana called me right away

and was like, "I need you to step up."

[somber music playing]

[Thurman] In Rousey's

13th professional fight,

she was a ten-to-one favorite

over Holly Holm.

But getting Holm on the ground,

where Rousey could avoid her punches

and apply her signature armbar,

was easier said than done.

[Ranallo] Holm presented

a stylistic puzzle.

She used footwork, angles,

and disciplined striking

to keep Rousey at distance.

[Thurman] And as this

stylistic paradox unfolded,

Rousey's aura of invincibility

began to waver.

-[man 1] Beautiful. She's hurt!

-[man 2] Can she get--

-Ronda's in trouble.

-[man 1] She's hurt.

-Holly looking to finish.

-[man 2] She's out!

[man 1] Holly Holm is the new

[Helwani] She ends up

suffering her first loss.

It was a really big deal,

and she took it really hard.

For a year after that,

she didn't speak to anyone.

She didn't do any media.

You never saw her.

There was a point,

"Will she ever come back?

Will she fight again?"

[music slowly fades]

[Rousey] After that, I didn't want

to come back to fight.

I was so over it and so heartbroken.

But I just wanted to get it over with

because everybody wanted me to come back.

I felt like maybe this is

what I needed to do,

to show everybody I could come back

from adversity or something.

That's what they needed to see.

And I got it over with.

[dark music playing]

[Thurman] One year later,

Rousey's comeback

against another violent striker,

Amanda Nunes,

fell well short of expectations,

as she was taken down in just 48 seconds.

-[commentator 1] It's over. Wow!

-[commentator 2] It's all over.

[Thurman] It was a sobering reminder

of the unforgiving nature of the cage,

and an almost-tragic closing chapter

on Rousey's untouchable dominance,

leaving the 28-year-old queen of combat

wondering, "What's next?"

[Rousey] I knew

that my fighting career was over.

So, it wasn't just that I lost a fight.

It wasn't just that I wasn't

champion anymore.

It was that I didn't think

I could be a fighter anymore.

And I didn't know who I was

if I wasn't a fighter.

[analyst] Some people will say

Ronda Rousey is the greatest

female fighter of all time.

Is Ronda Rousey overrated?

[analyst 2] It's going to be interesting

to see, though, if she decides

to come back for another fight

or if she does, in fact, decide to retire.

[analyst 3] Think about the last fights,

have you processed it all?

[Rousey] I'd just rather not talk

about that right now.

[dark music continues]

[voice breaks] I was sitting there,

thinking about k*lling myself.

That exact second,

I'm like, "I'm nothing."

I'm like, "What do I do anymore?"

To be honest, I looked up

and I saw my man.

Travis was standing there,

and I was looking up at him [sniffles]

I was like, "I need to have his babies.

I need to stay alive."

[audience laughs]

Really, that was it.

-You need to stay alive.

-[audience applauds]

[music fades]

[Bidarian] I've saved this message

for the past 11 years

'cause I read it from time to time

and think how powerful it was.

You in the ring that night,

after losing with your head down,

and I think people forget

you were a 28-year-old

and the whole world had been

on your shoulders

and you were carrying this company.

"No way. You cannot be a legend

without getting knocked on your a*s."

"People can't relate to perfection.

They relate to a beautiful struggle."

"She will be loved more

than she could ever have imagined."

"She needs to try again

with her head held high."

"What the f*ck is a story without tragedy?

No tragedy equals no hero."

"Show her this message.

I'm in her corner 1,000%."

-Do you know who that message is from?

-From who?

Kobe Bryant.

To see this message

from a legend like Kobe Bryant,

I know come May 16th, we're going

to see the best version of you,

and I wish Kobe was there to see it, too.

Because that message just means

so much in my mind. You know?

-All right.

-I'm gonna go now.

-[Rousey laughs] Thanks.

-Thank you so much. Bye.

All right. Bye. Bye.

Man.

I remember sitting on my couch,

in Venice, just crying.

[somber music playing]

You know, to have him, like

be behind me in a time

that most people weren't anymore.

You know?

[sniffles]

[music fades]

-[trainer] Jab.

-[impact on pads]

One, two. Jab.

Because this is what matters,

is your ability to get there.

You know what I mean? Just deal with it.

[Rousey] Right.

-[trainer] Right? One, two.

-Right.

Yeah, jab. Feint, one, two.

[inspiring music playing]

[Thurman] After marrying

her long-term partner

and former MMA fighter Travis Browne,

it wasn't long before she was

back in front of the crowds.

Just three years removed

from her last fight,

Rousey channeled her competitive intensity

with two stints in professional wrestling.

And gave birth to two daughters.

Now, a full decade

since she entered the cage,

Rousey is stepping back into the light

on Saturday, May 16th,

no longer driven by the frantic need

to prove her greatness,

but by the desire to cement her legacy.

-Yeah, do you know what I mean?

-[Rousey] Yeah.

I think everything happens

exactly the way that it should happen.

I need to be in there for myself.

In those last two fights,

I was in there for everybody else.

I needed to take that step back

and to reassess

and to really find

a new way of doing things

that was entirely in my own way.

I think that's why

I really needed this fight.

I needed it to be able

to take my ownership back.

[Browne] It's fun to see her smile

in her camps again.

We're at a point in our lives

where we do what we want.

[music fades]

And it's something that she really wants

to do, so she has my full support.

That's what we do for each other.

That's what kept us together

for over a decade now.

See you later.

[Browne] See you later.

Hate to see you leave

but I'll watch you walk away.

[Rousey laughs]

[exciting music playing]

[Thurman] With the fight just weeks away,

fine-tuning the game plan takes priority.

Carano's path to victory mirrors

those that have bested Rousey in the past.

Leveraging the cage into a striking arena

where she can take advantage

of her Muay Thai pedigree,

keeping the fight standing,

and avoiding the canvas

where Rousey's judo skills

give her the upper hand.

[Carano] We know what Ronda's a genius at.

If she gets ahold of you,

you're in trouble.

But, like, she's human.

There you go. Kick with your base leg.

Hey! That was it.

[Carano] I'm a heavy hitter, I'd say.

[trainer] Hey.

[Carano] But I also am a little tricky.

[music fades]

You never know what to expect from me.

So, we're gonna

add in our training partner, Shonda.

Shonda Mousey.

Okay. Teach us some judo.

One-two block, work your way in.

Good, clinch it up. Breathing.

We know what Ronda's good at,

what she wants to do.

She'll try to toss us on our head,

break our arm, choke us.

And sweep her down.

On top, good.

Control position, good, tight.

The goal is to close those gaps

as much as possible,

but we're gonna try to knock her out.

[tense music playing]

[Carano] Is this about money?

No, absolutely not.

Money's nice, but, you know,

money can be gone

[snaps fingers] like that.

Is this fight about fame?

No, because that,

I've experienced personally,

can be gone like that.

This is about the fight.

[Wood] Fight. [grunting]

[Carano] The challenge.

Good.

[Carano] It's about respect.

It's about closing out something

that's always been lingering in my head.

Could I do that again?

[Wood] Uppercut. Up! [grunting]

Cross.

Hook.

-Time.

-[bell dings]

[Carano] And to be able to start answering

that question, "Yes, I can,"

is just such a beautiful thing.

Doing hard things

makes you start to live again.

I feel so alive right now.

And whatever I went through,

thank God for that.

My life is so cool to be sitting here

and dreaming about standing

across the ring from a legendary fighter.

[music fades]

-[trainer] One, two, one.

-[impact on pads]

Right hand.

One jab. Now, give me a jab and a hook.

Fine. Again.

Again.

One, two.

One, two, one.

-[pensive music playing]

-Right hand.

[Rousey] I didn't have any desire

to come back to MMA at all.

I just felt like that entire chapter

of my life was closed.

I'd put that wall up,

where I didn't want to have

anything to do with it because of, like

[voice breaks] just how much

I love all of it.

And I just didn't want

anything to do with it again.

[Thurman] Ronda Rousey may have

turned the page on her fighting career,

but the love for a sport

you helped revolutionize

never fully subsides.

So, when her husband's MMA coach,

Ricky Lundell, asked for help

in the pursuit of a black belt in judo,

the familiar rhythms of the cage

reignited a spark that was smoldering

just beneath the surface.

[Rousey] He had so much enthusiasm

and was such a great student,

and I was having

so much fun and joy with it again,

and really rekindling all of those things

that I tried to stamp out.

[Lundell] Time.

Being there, it was only a matter of time

that, of course, it would lead

to wanting to actually fight again.

It's been a very powerful healing

experience all the way around.

It just started to reignite

that joy in me again

of how fascinated I am with all of this.

[electrifying music playing]

[Thurman] So, here we are,

a decade removed from her last MMA fight,

about to enter the cage

against Gina Carano,

a striker whose fighting arsenal mirrors

the technical prowess

that ended her championship reign.

[trainer] Good.

[music intensifies]

[Rousey] What's really incredible

about Gina's striking style

that presents a very unique problem for me

is that she is very good at a distance.

She has a very good, long right hand,

but in a clinch,

and I'm able to close the distance,

her knees, her elbows are f*cking so good.

I won't be able to get close

and not pay for it.

I don't know how I'll handle the strikes.

That's how perfect I have to be.

[Lundell] We do expect to get

into a big match with big exchanges,

and we're making sure

that we're prepared in every aspect.

[trainer] One, two, uppercut, hook, cross.

That's it.

[Lundell] We have the skills and ability

to knock out,

to take the fight anywhere it needs to go,

and we push for that aspect,

but we're ready to go

after what we really want.

The goal's the Rowdy special.

No one in martial arts has

better armbars than me.

You never get to my workspace and get out.

You're never getting out of there.

It's over.

[Lundell] We're not pulling away

from something that we've been working on

for the last 30 years.

Ronda's developed that forever,

and she's the best in the world

at that type of a game.

I'm prepared for anything, you know?

If this is a five-round f*cking brawl

for the ages,

I can f*cking grind better than she can.

[Lundell] Cage door's going to close,

you're gonna see two women

that have worked their heart out

to get to this space.

[Rousey laughing] She is so f*cked.

We're here, you're dead.

They're gonna be their best ever.

Someone's getting finished.

[music peaks and fades]

[Carano] I feel like Ronda's

been chasing me for a long time,

and it is out of respect that I show up

the person that maybe

she thinks I can't be.

I want her to know what she's been chasing

'cause she doesn't know.

[Rousey] I'm ready at the drop of a hat.

I'm going to be the most dangerous

I have ever been May 16th.

[Carano] Every time

I think about this fight,

I think about it walking away with the W.

That's how I see it in my head.

And when I see it in my head,

I can make it happen.

[Rousey] For me, this is my own closure.

I've done enough fighting

for everybody else. This fight's for me.

My job isn't to hate her

or to get her to hate me.

My job is to get people

to watch this fight.

Why would you tune in?

Um, why wouldn't you?

I think about you

I think about you

I think about you

I think about you

[Helwani] We're just days away now

from a historic event.

I believe the UFC is dying,

and MVP is here to take over.

[Thurman] Call it a takeover.

Change is coming. I'm very happy

to be at the forefront of it.

I think about you

[Thurman] Call it a theatrical disruption

of the MMA landscape.

Call it whatever you want.

This will be the most viewed MMA event

of all time, period.

[Thurman] In just a few days,

we turn back the clock

It doesn't get bigger than this.

[Helwani] This is gigantic

for the sport of MMA.

[Thurman] and remind a new generation

that two of the baddest women

on the planet

still hold the keys to the kingdom.

For Gina Carano,

the dust may have settled,

only to be kicked up again.

Nothing's going to wake you up

better than a fight.

[Thurman] Proving that a life that seemed

irrevocably derailed can tilt.

I am whooping the sh*t

out of her in my head.

[Thurman] Her return

isn't just a comeback.

It's a rekindling of a fire

that once redefined the sport.

[Rousey] I want what succeeds me

to exceed me.

That's respect.

The best way for me to show her that

is to whoop her f*cking a*s.

[Thurman] Ronda Rousey reenters the cage,

not with a shout,

but with a silent pull of the tide,

drawn back to the canvas

where her legend first took root.

[Rousey] There's no way anyone has

any idea how f*cking great I am at this,

and how much better I am

than I've ever been.

[Thurman] Proving that the fiercest storms

don't fade,

they simply wait

for their season to return.

I think about you

Do you think about me?

Do you think you'd win in a fight

If you saw me out on the street

This is not just

the biggest women's fight of all time.

This is the biggest MMA fight of all time.

It's going to get the most views

on the biggest platform,

on a card with the biggest stars,

and will be headlined by two women

who dared to dream big.

Bet your a*s this is the biggest MMA fight

of all time. Bar none!

[crowd cheering]

[Thurman] And just when you think

the night couldn't be more memorable,

how about two more epic fights?

Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry.

And Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins.

Three main events in one night.

[music continues]

On Saturday, May 16th,

Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano

will bridge the past

with a vicious, unyielding present,

trading the shadows of history

for another moment in the spotlight.

[music fades]

Lightning in a bottle

I'm wrapped around your heart

Damn, I look so good

Mistaking me for art

I'm the kind of trouble

To pull your world apart

Let me know a good time

And place to start

What you think about that?

What you think about that?

What you think about that?

Oh!

What you think about that?

What you think about that?

What you think about that?

Oh!

What you think about that?

What you think about that?

What you think about that?

Oh!

What you think about that?

What you think about that?

What you think about

What you think about that?

What you think about that?

[music fades]