Boxer Jake Paul is pivoting his Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) to MMA and is venturing into that world by bringing a pair of legendary fighters out of retirement.
MVP announced they would be putting on an MMA mega-fight on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles featuring Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey.
It’s a stunning card to cobble together considering the two women have been retired from MMA competitions for a combined 26 years.
Even though Carano-Rousey is a card that comes over a decade too late, it still has the potential to be a highly entertaining bout.
Carano, 43, has not stepped into an octagon since August 2009 as she went off to a successful career in film and television.
As for Rousey, the 39-year-old former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, retired from MMA in 2016 and parlayed her skills into a brief career in professional wrestling with the WWE.
Gina Carano (L) and Ronda Rousey (R) are set to face off against each other in a mixed martial arts bout in Los Angeles in May after a combined 26 years out of MMA competition
The card will be the first MMA bout for boxer Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions
Carano only participated in eight bouts in her MMA career before retiring in 2009
Rousey is one of the most successful women in MMA history, but hasn’t fought since 2016
While they’re two names that MMA fans will easily recognize, many of them were still confused and stunned that such a fight is taking place long after either fighter was competitive.
‘Wow…. this is really going to be mid,’ wrote one user on X.
Another said, ‘This would have been fun in 2014. Not so much in 2026.’
‘Who is actually going to watch this trash,’ read another post.
One fan joked, ‘Is this the nursing home tour?’ Another joke read, ‘Wow, you gotta think Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano is gonna be the most anticipated fight of 2011.
Back when she was fighting, Carano competed for the Strikeforce Women’s Featherweight Championship – but lost to Cris Cyborg in her last official competition.
As for Rousey, she won the Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Championship in 2012 and then successfully defended the belt seven times – including when it moved to the UFC.
She lost the title to Holly Holm in 2015 and then lost a fight for the Bantamweight Championship again against Amanda Nunes in her final UFC appearance in December 2016.