Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey delivered a remarkable conclusion to her mixed martial arts journey Saturday evening, defeating Gina Carano by submission in just 17 seconds.
The following day, the 39-year-old fighter disclosed the message she delivered to Carano moments before their brief encounter in the ring.
“I told her, ‘I respect you and I’m breaking your arm,’” Rousey said. “No contradiction there. I was hoping to come out as unscathed as possible. I didn’t really want to hurt her. It was beautiful. It felt like the magic was back.”
Following her victory, Rousey declared her intention to retire once again. She quickly brought Carano to the ground, defended against a guillotine choke attempt, delivered several strikes from a dominant position, and secured her trademark submission hold.
The Rousey-Carano bout served as the main event for Netflix’s inaugural MMA broadcast. Both fighters, the former inaugural UFC bantamweight champion and the 44-year-old Carano, were returning to competition after extended breaks from the sport. Rousey claimed victory with her signature armbar technique in the featherweight contest held in Inglewood, California, marking Most Valuable Promotions’ first mixed martial arts event.
The victory marked Rousey’s fourth win achieved in less than 35 seconds, bringing her professional record to 13-2-0 while earning her 10th submission victory.
“There’s no way I could’ve ended it better than this,” Rousey added. “This is a storybook ending if this is the end of my book as a fighter. I never thought I would come back. It didn’t cross my mind at all. But getting back into it reminded me of the joy that it gave me from the very beginning.
“Gina brought me into this sport, and she brought me back to it. We both needed to reclaim our bodily identity and rewrite our own ending together. It lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. I feel like I got the closure I needed.”
