Gina Carano 'Really Wanted' Ronda Rousey Fight In UFC, Agreed To December 2025

Gina Carano has said she initially wanted her comeback fight against Ronda Rousey to be staged by UFC.

Carano will be making her return for the first time in 17 years as she fights Rousey, returning herself for the first time in a decade, on May 16. The bout has billed as a redemption, a return, and a true retirement for the women's MMA pioneers, and while it will be the first MMA event to stream on Netflix that wasn't always the way things had been intended. 

Carano confirmed in an interview with Ariel Helwani that she had first started to prepare for a potential comeback bout in September 2024, though she said she had a long way to go. 

"[Dana White] was like, 'Okay, how about you'll fight at the end of 2025, December?' And I was like, 'Well I still have a lot of weight to rip off, but okay.' Then Ronda got a hold of me and there was just a lot happening between Ronda, UFC, Dana, and MVP, Nakisa [Bidarian] ... I mean, I didn't really have that much negotiating power except the fact that Ronda wants to fight me. I'm the only one she wants to fight. So I was just like, 'Ronda, go for it. I'm cool either way.'"

Carano clarified that White reached out regarding the fight with Rousey, giving her a deadline of December 2025, which she agreed to. By this point, she had yet to discuss any numbers but said she knew that was something to come further down the line. 

"I really wanted to do UFC," she said. "Make that walk. But, you know, I think that Ronda, like she led the way... I don't know [how close it got to being official]. That would be between Ronda and Dana. She led the way 1000%. I just said yes."